Chicago High School Student Wins TeenDrive365 Video Challenge
Elijah Wilborn shows off the $15,000 earned by winning the TeenDrive365 Video Challenge
Chicago high schooler Elijah Wilborn won the Toyota and Discovery Education TeenDrive365 Video Challenge this week with an enthralling safe driving PSA. Wilborn’s video addresses a number of everyday distractions that teenage drivers face behind the wheel, doing so with a deft combination of wit and clarity.
“We loved how Elijah’s PSA addressed driving safety with creativity, humor and a clear-eyed view of the distractions that face drivers of all ages,” said Michael Rouse, President, Toyota USA Foundation. “We offer him our heartfelt congratulations and are proud to help share his vision for encouraging other teens to drive more safely.”
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Wilborn’s video depicts a teenager driving to school and being assailed by a number of potential distractions including “phone,” “radio,” “pride,” and “ego.” These distractions are represented by other teenagers wearing t-shirts bearing the name of the potential hazards, all of whom pester the driver to the point where he kicks them out of the car and ostensibly leaves distractions at the curb.
For his video, Wilborn won a grand prize of $15,000 and will work with a crew from Discovery to make a higher-budget version of his original PSA.
Runner-up Demi Straulino, a student at George School in Newtown, PA, will receive $10,000. Third place winners Jordan Bjorklund, Daniel Harte, Joseph Salazar, and Karina Vazquez, students at Antioch Unified School District’s Deer Valley High School in Antioch, CA, will receive $7,500 in addition to a $5,000 prize for winning the People’s Choice Award. All prize winners also earn a behind-the-scenes trip to a taping of a Velocity network show.
More information about the TeenDrive365 program can be found at www.TeenDrive365.com.
Related: Toyota Teen Driving Program Helps to Make Roads Safer
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