2017 High School Winners

Maya Peters-Greño and Maya Redden are sophomores at Compass Academy in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Their teacher used the video contest guidelines for a class project on the impacts of human population, and the girls decided to enter their video into the contest.

They were drawn to the topic of ocean health due to a shared love of the ocean and the animals that call it home. Maya P.G. described how growing up in Barcelona and finding trash-covered beaches and dying sea animals who had been maimed by litter instilled a deep passion for protecting aquatic environments. As for why they decided to focus on microbeads, the girls explained that they wanted to present easily attainable solutions. They told us, “Microbeads are such an unsung topic, but it’s a problem that highlights how small changes to peoples’ daily routines can make a huge difference in protecting our environment.”

When she isn’t entering in competitions, Maya R. enjoys dancing and volunteering at the local interactive art museum. Maya P.G., who relocated from Spain only a couple of years ago, emphasized that she’s still discovering more things to like about her new home, especially making new friends like Maya R.