December 2023 / January 2024 Winners

My short video portrays the complex relationship I have with my parents as a transgender teenager. The end poem is a direct call out to the fact that my parents fully know that I’m trans, yet every time it is brought up in a conversation, they act as if it’s their first time hearing it. The…

When teenagers have issues and difficult problems, they are often scared to share. They can have feelings of stress or depression and feel like giving up, even when an adult sees them as ‘happy.’

My submission is a ‘collaborative’ poster. I gathered thoughts, ideas, feelings, and emotions from all the people I know. I wanted to do something that really shows how stressful and difficult situations are affecting children, teenagers, and adults.

A ‘perfect’ conversation requires effort from both ends. The person struggling has to open up and trust the other person they’re asking for help, whilst the person being reached out to has to provide support and reassurance. A perfect conversation is one where the person who needs help can get it.

Something I wish my parents knew is that I often felt isolated and alienated during middle school. I wish my parents understood how difficult it was to fit in and adjust to a new school.

Every day almost feels the same, especially when you are supposed to be a top student and feel obligated to get everything done perfectly. When I’m working endlessly until the day is over, my window serves as a reminder of how much I miss those days when I had time to go outside, go biking, and…

Being strapped down by the depression of my daily life interrupts everything I do. My worst fear is disappointing my parents and not being able to meet the most simple expectations. […] The hardest thing for me to tell my parents is that I TRIED to get up but couldn’t.

I wish my parents understood the complexity of emotions and mental health in their children. It’s easy for parents to get caught up in the chaos of raising a family, but it’s essential to pause and acknowledge that children have very real emotions that shouldn’t be overlooked just because they’re young.

Silencing your child anytime they are trying to express something to you is a drastic setback for them; over time, it affects their capability to communicate and express their emotions to you. Don’t limit their voice and listen to them.

As I’m growing up and becoming more independent, I’ve struggled with being overwhelmed by school, my commitments, and my busy schedule. I know my parents want to help me but don’t always know how. I want them to know that, because of all the things they have taught me and the values they have instilled in…

As a teen, sometimes it’s hard to be heard. This was a perfect opportunity to get the voices of teens who are often ignored out there.

You never know what someone is going through until they tell you, so this film/podcast gave me an opportunity to become closer with teammates, advisors, and friends – they trusted me enough to share their mental health, and I’m hoping other teens will want to share their mental health after watching this.

I hope I can empower my community through my film.

Our indigenous Latino youth wanted an opportunity to express how they feel about their struggle in school. Being first-generations students means that their parents often don’t know the hurdles their children have to overcome to be successful.

With this PSA we wanted to reach out to adults and guardians in order to raise awareness towards the issues teens face. The PSA covers how teens experience and express anxiety and stress. Parents sometimes do not realize when their child is dealing with something despite the signs they may show.

Generational Ignorance tells The story of how Parents of Gen-Z will often disregard their child’s mental health needs due to stereotypes. The Stereotype in question that we are “addicted to phones”. In the poem, I explain, yes, phones can be addictive, but more often than not, they can be an emotional outlet in a world with…

This piece comes from a moment where I noticed a pattern of keeping things to myself and was able to trace how it’s impacted me since then. Keeping things to yourself without really processing them, talking about them, and working through them can impact your mental health and your relationships with loved ones. Supressing your thoughts…

My poem addresses the universal theme of the accepting mistakes and the burden of perfection, as well as expressing a desire for reassurance and care. I wanted to capture the delicate balance between vulnerability and strength while emphasizing the power of communication and understanding in fostering meaningful connections.

My submission is about how I wish parents and other adults would listen to us students and children, not to say that they don’t listen but that they don’t hear us. I want this to be fixed and I want adults to hear my message and think about how they often ignore our feelings because they…

This submission is a letter showing love to my family. It also shows them where I am with my mental health.

I made a PSA that a radio show host might make in between two songs. I wanted to make it quick and lighthearted but still informational. The specific problems I talked about are things that I sometimes see parents do, but I think everyone could do this a little bit more.

My piece depicts the strikes nurses went on in order to protest a shortage of workers in the healthcare industry and the dangers faced by patients as a result of being treated by underpaid, overworked professionals. Strikes can serve as crucial tools for securing fair wages and hours.

One message, as simple as it may be, can make a big difference to someone’s day. While it’s important to give yourself hope and find things that can help you get through the day, it’s also equally important to help others.

A simple conversation with someone can go a long way. My film shows the benefits of having a conversation about mental health.

My piece, “A Lesson in Poetry”, is my way of expressing how much poetry means to me. I thought what better way than to discuss this with a poem, one of my favorite art forms. This piece tells the story of how I learned to write poetry from my dad throughout the years and how he…

Teens need mental health support so they won’t feel alone

Our indigenous Latino youth wanted an opportunity to express how they feel about their struggle in school. Being first-generations students means that their parents often don’t know the hurdles their children have to overcome to be successful.

It is important for our parents to know what we are going through. We have different experiences from them, and they can’t always relate. This can affect our mental health and our relationship with them. We want to bring more awareness to this struggle that students have with their parents.

Sometimes it is hard for my parents to understand me and for me to open up to them. Working with my team helped me to feel better knowing that my friends go through similar things. We want our parents to understand how important mental health is to us.

I want to help bring awareness to the fact that students are going through a lot more than their parents might realize.