Mariner High School graduate Elyssa Vazquez placed first in the 2026 ScienceSaves Video Scholarship Contest.<\/p>\n
PHOTO PROVIDED\n<\/p>\n
Mariner High School graduate Elyssa Vazquez recently received a $10,000 scholarship from the 2026 ScienceSaves Video Scholarship Contest.<\/p>\n
The contest received hundreds of submissions from college-bound high school seniors across the country. Their videos detailed the impact science had on their lives, or the life of someone they knew personally.<\/p>\n
\u201cReceiving this $10,000 scholarship is an incredible honor and an immense financial relief. It validates the hard work I put into this project, but more importantly, it represents a massive investment in my future education and career aspirations,\u201d Vasquez said.<\/p>\n
Vazquez stumbled across the contest on social media. She said she was looking through student opportunities and scholarship pages when the #ScienceSaves campaign popped up on her feed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt immediately caught my eye because it wasn\u2019t just a typical scholarship essay prompt, but a video prompt that asked for creativity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her submission was a 30-second video that blended a personal family story with medical science.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpecifically,\u00a0 I explained how sodium channel blockers work to regulate electrical surges in the brain to control her epileptic seizures. I made it scrapbook style to make it seem like the video was going through memories,\u201d Vazquez said.<\/p>\n
Her cousin Aiva was diagnosed with epilepsy when she was very young.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up, her family fought the unpredictability of her condition, but we also saw firsthand how life changing medical research can be. I wanted to highlight her resilience and show that scientific advancements aren\u2019t just creations in a lab but inventions that can change a family,\u201d Vazquez said.<\/p>\n
She will be attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the fall to pursue a degree in aeronautical science.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to express my gratitude to the creators of the #ScienceSaves program for providing this platform to highlight how scientific innovation changes lives,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The submissions were judged on the student\u2019s ability to tell a brief, compelling personal story using original photos, video clips and texts. The top three were chosen, as well as a People\u2019s Choice through voting on the ScienceSaves website.<\/p>\n
The second-place winner was Jade McMillan of Atlanta Georgia, who received a $2,000 scholarship, third place was given to Andrianna Harstad from Jupiter, Florida, who received $1,000 and the People\u2019s Choice Award went to Darasimi Omoloye from Plumas Lake, California, who also received $1,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cScienceSaves was created to promote science appreciation,\u201d said philanthropist\u00a0Todd Stiefel, the founder of ScienceSaves, in a prepared statement. \u201cThese videos are wonderful because they really illustrate the lifesaving power of science and how it touches everyone. There\u2019s a real sense of hopefulness and gratitude that comes through in each of these videos. It\u2019s a joy to see and a pleasure to be a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Center for Inquiry Science-Saves is a nonpartisan, pro-science advocacy program.<\/p>\n