2025 High School Winners

Naya Shalish is a 10th-grade student at The Newman School in Boston, Massachusetts. This is her second time submitting to the World of 8 Billion—her first entry in 8th grade, titled “The Solution to Waste Buildup”, received a state honor award. Inspired by the contest’s mission and energized by her growing interest in filmmaking and environmental advocacy, Naya returned this year with a powerful new message focused on rainforest deforestation.

Motivated by classroom discussions and her own research, Naya explored deforestation in greater depth and was surprised to discover how significantly it contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions. Realizing the extent of our dependence on forest resources, she set out to find a sustainable alternative. She decided to focus her video on the use of hemp as a dynamic alternative not only for wood, but also for clothing, paper, food, and other products that could help reduce commercial logging. Through a deeper, more refined approach than her earlier work, Naya combined scientific insight with her love for visual storytelling to advocate for change.

Naya says her biggest challenge was narrowing down her message to make it both impactful and unique. She encourages future participants to find creative angles and to experiment with mixing real footage and artistic visuals to stand out. Her short film “Ngaben” was directed during a vacation to Bali and screened at the Atlanta Children’s Film Festival and the Boston International Film Festival.

Outside of school, Naya is active in both the arts and community service. She played piano for eight years, performs jazz on the alto saxophone, and recently joined a local music program where she performs in libraries and will soon take the stage at theaters. Her love for service work began in sixth grade, when a close family friend introduced her to event planning for nonprofit causes. That experience sparked an interest in community engagement, leading her to start her own volunteer organization, Youth for Impact. The group organizes teens for weekly acts of service, and Naya documents these efforts through video storytelling on social media.

She plans to use her prize money to support an upcoming service trip to Honduras, where she will help build a school for elementary students. As for the future, Naya is still exploring career paths but is certain of one thing: she wants to make a positive difference. “I can definitely see myself continuing to use media and communication as a tool for advocacy in the future,” she reflected. Whether through environmental education, nonprofit work, or advocacy filmmaking, she envisions a life centered around meaningful contribution.