2026 Middle School Winners

Sanjit is an 8th grader at Pioneer Heritage Middle School in Frisco, Texas. He wanted to create a video for this year’s contest because he is passionate about conserving wetlands and protecting organisms around the globe. Sanjit had previously conducted research on the impacts of population growth on ecosystems but was surprised how heavily impacted coastal wetlands are from erosion. Sanjit explained that “coastal wetlands and beaches are an important staple to the U.S. coastline states. A lot of people go there to relax, but because of erosion, people of all ages won’t get to experience these beautiful places in the future. A lot of people don’t know about conservation.”

With this in mind, Sanjit wanted to show the stark contrast between eroded shorelines and living shorelines, the sustainable solution Sanjit describes in his video. He decided to use air dried clay and bought fake leaves, plants, pebbles, and other aquarium items to build two models. The first model depicts erosion while the second shows the living shorelines supported by the terrarium plants. To create his video, Sanjit spent a lot of time on the script and fact-checking his work. He used WeVideo to find video clips, create captions, and edit the video. His advice to future contestants is to “trust yourself and your instincts – you are capable of doing anything and creating a great video!”

Following the contest, Sanjit wants to take more action on protecting wetlands – he specifically wants to share his video with experts specializing in wetland protection and interview them. Outside of school, Sanjit likes building Legos, listening to R&B music, and watching movies and shows with his family. He is also excited to further pursue video-making as a hobby. In the future, he hopes to major in business technology or cybersecurity.