Austin seventh-grader wins second in Take Care of Texas video contest

AUSTIN, Texas - An Austin seventh-grader has placed second in the middle school category in the Take Care of Texas video contest.

Kealing Middle School student Daphne Hayes's video was selected out of 12 finalists by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality commissioners, executive staff, and representatives from the contest's sponsor, Waste Management of Texas, Inc.

More than 200 Texas students submitted videos for the 2021 contest.

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The TCEQ holds the video contest every year, challenging sixth through twelfth-grade students across the state to grab their video cameras to produce entertaining and compelling 30-second videos showing how to keep Texas' air and water clean, reduce waste, and conserve water and energy.

"This is one of the most fun days of the year," said Charles Rivette, senior market area planner at Waste Management, Inc. "We’re proud and happy to be a part of this student video contest."

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For her video, Hayes won a GoPro HERO Black Deluxe camera package, provided by Waste Management of Texas, Inc., which awarded GoPro camera packages to each middle school winner and scholarships to each high school winner.

San Antonio sixth-grader Sofia Ramirez from the STEM Academy at Nimitz placed first in the middle school category.