2015 Winners

A senior at the Compass Academy in Idaho Falls, ID, Niquelle Lewis found out about the contest from her AP Human Geography teacher. She struggled to choose a topic because they all appealed to her but in the end she felt most strongly about global education. She finds it “interesting to think about how different parts of the world and different cultures affect how people receive education.” Through the contest Niquelle has become more aware about the link between population and education recalling that, “where population is bigger there seems to a lack of education for girls and even boys resulting in more poverty.”

Interested in stop motion, she decided to utilize the technique for her video but it was not without challenges. Niquelle tells us, “there were a lot of pictures and I had to make sure they all lined up which made the editing process difficult.” She has made videos in the past and would suggest that future video producers chose a topic they can relate to because it’ll give them the motivation required to create a powerful message.

Niquelle will soon be leaving on an 18-month mission trip with her church and is anxiously awaiting her trip assignment. After her missionary travel she’d like to attend college at either Brigham Young University or Utah State University and will use her prize money to help cover the cost. Niquelle keeps busy with cross country, track, and the National Honor Society and shared that her super power would be to shapeshift “because then I could do just about anything!”