2023年高中获奖者

罗伯托·奎萨达是纽约布鲁克林科技高中的一名高年级学生。他的AP环境科学老师向他介绍了“80亿世界”学生视频大赛。三个全球性议题对罗伯托来说都很重要，但他尤其关注气候变化，因为这是他所见过的最严峻的问题之一，而且“触及了许多环境问题的根源”。他回忆起高一那年发生的气候罢工，当时成千上万的人走上纽约街头，抗议企业将利润置于人民之上。罗伯托表示，“谈论气候变化也可以更广泛地探讨环境和社会正义”，而且随着人口的增长，尤其是在城市地区，公共交通在未来将变得更加重要和必要。

罗伯托的视频灵感源于他经常往返于华盛顿特区和纽约之间的经历。他发现火车票价昂贵且不可靠，有时甚至比坐飞机更便宜。他想到像日本这样的国家拥有高速列车，相比美国现有的交通方式，高速列车提供了一种更公平、更环保的出行方式。他曾尝试过视频创作，但从未在网上发表过任何作品。罗伯托觉得比赛的时间限制很有挑战性，因为他有很多话想说。在创作脚本的过程中，他学会了如何精准简洁地表达信息。他对未来的参赛者建议是：“忠于自我，反思自身身份的各个方面，从而确定你想谈论的内容。建立这种个人联系可以帮助你产生更大的影响力。”他希望未来能将社会正义作为比赛主题，重点关注气候变化、种族主义、LGBTQIA+权益和女性权益的交汇点。

A big part of Roberto’s identity is that he is Honduran-American and he is very active with issues that impact Latino communities. He is inspired by Berta Cáceres, a Honduran climate activist who fought to protect indigenous lands from pollution. Roberto said that Berta was very brave and modeled for him how important it is to “try to speak up, even when it is difficult and there are challenges in the way.” In addition to his activism, Roberto is also into debate, creating art with political themes, and finding time to travel and learn new things. He is a part of the USA Debate Team, won a Scholastic Congressional Art Competition, and a Yale-Bassett Award for community engagement and racial justice activism. Roberto will be attending Harvard next year and is interested in government so he can “be in a position to advocate for his community, the Latino community, and people at large for better transportation models.”