#ShowYourEnergy contest helps students learn and earn
When Governor Doug Burgum challenged North Dakota students to use their creativity, research skills and energy to share what they know about North Dakota’s oil and natural gas industry, students were eager to respond, and this week, six students will be reaping the rewards.
Megan McCarthy, Jayce Zuern, Jaedyn Dockter, and Kolby Bennett of Chris Harvey’s video production class at Hazen High School is taking home the grand prize among high school students and Joshua and Isaac Miiller of North Star Academy created the winning video among elementary students. Both will receive $1,500 for equipment they will use in the classroom.
“The Show Your Energy Video Contest was a great way for my students to dig deep into a subject and gain a greater understanding of the role that the energy industry plays in North Dakota’s economy,” said Harvey. “Prior to completing this project, my students didn’t understand how petroleum product affect their everyday lives. I’m very proud of my students’ work, and we’re excited that one of our videos was selected for the grand prize.”
“Through this project, they gained a new appreciation for how petroleum impacts every part of their lives, and pride in our state for being such a significant producer of energy for our country,” said Kathy Miiller, Joshua and Isaac’s mother. “We were shocked to find that oil was a factor somewhere in the supply chain of almost every single product we use, eat or drink. It’s remarkable.”
“I was really surprised at the store because in some places I couldn’t find anything that didn’t come from oil,” said Isaac.
“Our favorite things that come from oil are probably Nerf guns and Legos,” added Joshua.
Burgum helped launch the #ShowYourEnergy campaign in October 2017 as a part of Energy Awareness Month. The six-month long contest challenged students to create short, fun and informative videos about the state’s oil and gas resources using skills and knowledge from science, technology, engineering, art and math. Students submitted 27 videos over the course of the contest.
The contest was hosted by the Governor’s Office, the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources and the North Dakota Petroleum Council (NDPC) and was funded in part by the NDPC’s Energy of North Dakota program and the North Dakota Oil and Gas Research Council. The committee plans to make this an annual contest and looks forward to kicking it off again next October for Energy Awareness Month.
For more information about #ShowYourEnergy and to view the winning videos, visit www.ShowYourEnergy.com.