Winner of the Utah Hospital Association Award, Logan High School senior Sam Toledo standing next to his winning poster.
LOGAN — The 2023 Utah High School Clean Air Marketing Contest winners were announced during the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art for Community Art Day, Saturday Feb. 11.
“The entries seem to get better and more ingenious every year,” USU Jon M. Huntsman School of Business Professor Edwin Stafford said. “Creative competitions are important vehicles for educating youth as they spark the joy of learning and self-discovery that you just can’t replicate in the classroom.”
From over 800 entries submitted from high school students in Utah and southern Idaho that participated in creating clear air public service announcements, 60 entries were selected as finalists which are on display at NEHMA through the end of February.
A panel of 35 judges were tasked to select the winners out of the 60 finalists. Eighteen entries were selected as state winners and two were named as honorable mentions.
The winners include six students from Ridgeline High School, five students from Logan High School, two students from Preston High School, one from Westside High School and one student from Fast Forward Charter High School.
The 2023 winners and honorable mentions of the Clean Air Marketing Contest were:
- Ingrid Payne, Grand County High School, Moab — $300 Utah Clean Cities Award
- Cole Yoklavich, Carbon High School, Price — $275 Utah Hospital Association Award
- Gaia Hemvej, Ridgeline High School, Millville — $250 Cache Valley Electric Award
- Sam Toledo, Logan High School, Logan — $225 Utah Hospital Association Award
- Annie Scarber, Granger High School, West Valley City — $200 Cache Valley Electric Award
Community Art Day attendees looking at the Utah High School Clean Air Marketing Contest 2023 finalists’ posters at NEHM - Gabrielle Vasquez, Carbon High School, Price — $200 Conservice Award
- Jaydon Peterson, Preston High School, Preston — $150 Campbell Scientific Award
- Claire Turpin, Ridgeline High School, Millville — $100 Utah League of Cities and Towns Award
- Narayan Rao, Westside High School, Dayton — $100 Schreiber Award
- Sebastian Lopez, Logan High School, Logan — $100 Smart Rain Award
- Bria Dean, Ridgeline High School, Millville — $100 Krado Award
- Belle & Lyti Weed, Logan High School, Logan — $100 Ace Recycling & Disposal Award
- Charlotte McKeown, Ridgeline High School, Millville — $100 Cache Valley Chamber of Commerce Award
- Olivia Madrid, Ridgeline High School, Millville — $100 Zions Bank Award
- Alivia Parker, Ridgeline High School, Millville — $100 Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art Award
- Caroline Zollinger, Fast Forward Charter High School — $100 Utah PaperBox Award
- Tea Nyitrai-Dulo, Granger High School — $100 Ivory Homes Award
- Samantha Michels, Preston High School, Preston — $100 Juniper Systems Award
- Gloria Triana, Logan High School, Logan – Boondocks Honorable Mention Prize
- Finn Beland, Logan High School, Logan – Sunrise Cyclery Honorable Mention Prize
Winner of the Utah Hospital Association Award, Logan High School senior Sam Toledo, said he hoped the PSAs would inspire a statewide focus on combating the effects of Utah pollution and how it affects state pride.
Toledo said he would continue to advocate for clean air.
“I definitively see myself advocating for clean air in the future,” Toledo said. “I am Native American. I am Indigenous Heritage and so a lot of Native Communities and just working with advocacy and environmental issues with in the Native reservations.”
Toledo’s mother said it was exciting to see children addressing air pollution and using their voice through their artwork.
“Idling is a huge thing,” she said. “It’s a beautiful valley but during those inversion seasons…it’s not a beautiful sight and I think that’s something that people should all participate and that we all have a part in making that improving that inversion.”
Winner of the Campbell Scientific Award, Preston High School junior Jaydon Peterson, said he learned about idling and its effects on the environment.
“I learned a lot about idling,” Peterson said. “How bad it is and dangerous.”
The contest was created in 2015 by USU Extension Sustainability Professor Roslynn McCann and Stafford to help encourage Utahns to help keep air pollution down by carpooling, limiting idling, alternative transportation and trip-chaining especially during Utah’s polluted winter inversion season.
Stafford said many students and parents have reported the contest is the only formal education they get on local air pollution.
“One of the findings that we’ve had in our research is that for many of the high school kids and their parents tell us that this is the only formal education they get on local air pollution,” Stafford said. “If we’re going to educate the next generation of drivers in Utah, it looks like our contest may be one of the only avenues kids can learn about what causes our air pollution and how to preserve it.”
According to McCann, when they go to present and teach about air pollution and the contest in the classroom, they encourage students to discuss their ideas with their friends and family.
“It seems it’s really causing some influence among parents and friends to also think about air pollution and sources of that and change their behaviors as well,” McCann said.
Peterson’s mother, Tiffany Peterson said her son’s involvement in the contest for two years in a row has had an impact on her habits while driving.
“If I am sitting in my car and I’m just letting it run I’m like, ‘oh, Jaydon’s going to be mad at me. I better turn off my car,’” she said. “It’s definitely brought it more to the front of my mind.”