Tobacco Use Prevention Contest: Livermore Students Win Top Awards

Press release from the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District:

Livermore Students Win Top Awards At Tobacco Use Prevention Contest

June 1, 2020 - Livermore, CA - Ten outstanding Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District (LVJUSD) students won top honors at the annual Alameda County Tobacco Use Prevention Education (TUPE) Public Service Announcement (PSA) Contest. The PSA contest is led by a Youth Advisory Board composed of high school students aiming to educate the public on the dangers of smoking and vaping. Through video and poster entries, students from Granada High School, Vineyard Alternative School and Junction Avenue K-8 School, showcased their creative entries, reflecting this year’s contest theme, “Don’t Believe the Fiction, Vaping’s an Addiction.”

During the virtual ceremony on April 27th, Livermore students garnered top awards in the Video and Poster category in both Middle and High School divisions. Granada High School students Zoe Johnson, Grace Blanchard and Katie Langendorff won first place for “Vaping is safe, right?” in the category of Best High School Video. Ricky Titswork and Clara Markel, also of GHS, earned second and third place for Best High School Poster PSA.

Ethan Haines of Vineyard Alternative School received third place for a first-person narrative video about his personal experience and struggles with vaping addiction. Vineyard Principal Carla Estrada Hidalgo, spoke highly of Haines, commenting, “Ethan is a resilient young man who hopes others learn from his difficult situation of trying to quit vaping. He chose to create this PSA to humanize his struggles and possibly prevent anyone from becoming addicted to nicotine.”

Junction Avenue K-8 students Amelia Paradise, Sara Wiley, Elizabeth Kagel and Riley Kersh received third place for Best Middle School Video PSA for their submission entitled “Teens Kick Butt.” Jan Bennet, Junction Avenue K-8 Teacher and TUPE Advisor, remarked, “This group is an incredibly dedicated group of students. They have continued to meet weekly during Shelter-in-Place to put together a presentation for our 5th graders about the dangers of vaping. Every one of them represents the type of student that teachers dream of having in their class, and I feel lucky to be their mentor.”

Two talented Granada High School students and TUPE Youth Advisory Board members, Will Taggart and Meadow Walton, played active roles in transitioning the student-run ceremony to a first-ever virtual event. Taggart joined fellow YAB members in announcing the winners and took the lead in ensuring technical aspects of the virtual Awards Ceremony went smoothly, commenting, “I wanted to make sure the video felt as live and in-person for the viewer as I could in the editing process.” Meadow Walton was the first recorded youth presenter at the virtual Awards Ceremony, welcoming the attendees. In speaking to the value of her experience as a YAB member, Walton stated, “YAB has supported me in my speaking skills, leadership skills, and presentation skills. You have to take advantage of the opportunities that are there, and when you take the leadership roles, it pays off.”

These exceptional Livermore students have an outstanding commitment to anti-tobacco and vaping awareness. By harnessing artistic talents, their winning videos and posters have the power to broadly communicate and reinforce critical messages that will protect the health of our entire community.

All winning submissions by Livermore students can be viewed at https://youtu.be/Sh7cB6n8-KE or by visiting the Alameda County Office of Education website.

This press release was produced by University of San Diego. The views expressed here are the author's own.