Press Release

Students from Lynbrook, Mineola, Oyster Bay-East Norwich, Sayville, Smithtown, Three Village, West Islip and William Floyd School Districts Win PSEG Long Island’s Video PSA Contest

(UNIONDALE, N.Y. — May 20, 2022) With much energy and excitement, PSEG Long Island announced the student winners of its video public service announcement (PSA) contest promoting environmental awareness yesterday.

Nearly 5,000 students in fourth through 12th grade took part in the eco-friendly coursework this year with more than 200 videos submitted for consideration. Ten winners were named in the fourth-through-eighth-grade category and, new this year, 10 winners in the high school category were unveiled.

Hundreds of students, teachers, school administrators and participants’ parents tuned in to watch the announcement live via webinar hosted by PSEG Long Island Thursday morning.

“It’s great to see how these young environmental advocates are putting their newfound knowledge into action to protect their communities and our planet,” said Michael Voltz, PSEG Long Island’s director of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, who co-hosted the event. “Themes of solar energy use, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, recycling and cleaning up our planet were prominent. The messages in these PSAs will go a long way in creating awareness and, hopefully, action.”

“The students really set the bar at a high level with their videos this year. Their creativity and editing skills showed through in their projects,” said Suzanne Brienza, PSEG Long Island’s director of Customer Experience and Utility Marketing, who co-hosted the event. “Congratulations to all of the winners and kudos to all of the nearly 5,000 students who participated. You’re all winners because your great work is helping the world.”

The I AM EM-Powered Program and Student Challenge was created by educational consultants D. Barrett Associates. The STEM-related coursework provided lessons on energy conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy in alignment with current educational standards on these topics. The curriculum was also tailored for classroom, virtual learning and hybrid scenarios. Teachers could select and submit their favorite three videos to be judged by a strict grading rubric.

Sponsored by PSEG Long Island, the I AM EM-Powered Program and Student Challenge was provided free to students in the company’s service area – Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Rockaways.

Program and contest, by the numbers:

  • 3,849 4th – 8th students participated
  • 1,107 high school students participated
  • 110 teachers (fourth through 12th grades)
  • 32 school districts in Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Rockaways
  • 177 PSA videos submitted (fourth through eighth grades)
  • 32 PSA videos submitted (high school grades)

 
Here is a complete list of the winners:

 Student(s)

Grade

Teacher

School

District

Lara Vardar
Sophia Schoen
Miley Leu

8

Matthew Schneck

Lynbrook South Middle School

Lynbrook Public Schools

Olivia Dos Santos
Isabella Yiu
Reese Devins
Ava Lopez

7

Nicole LoCurto

Mineola Middle School

Mineola Public Schools

Aurelia Accornero

5

Diana Hauser

James H. Vernon School

Oyster Bay-East Norwich School District

Zoe Nobel
Amelia Fernandez

5

Diana Hauser

James H. Vernon School

Oyster Bay-East Norwich School District

Nicolas Paleos
Louis Xie
Brayan Nolasco

5

Diana Hauser

James H. Vernon School

Oyster Bay-East Norwich School District

GraceAnn Winter

5

Diana Hauser

James H. Vernon

School

Oyster Bay-East Norwich School District

Zachary Abend
Gabriella Arnemann
Sean D'Onofrio
Cian Murphy

4

Melinda Moran

Cherry Avenue Elementary

Sayville School District

Evelyn Jin
Quinn Lanzilotta
Lucy Straub

6

Sean Dowling

Minnesauke Elementary School

Three Village School District

Nathaniel Bellini
Jacob Childs
Ryan Feil
Robert Denmeade

5

Justin DeMaio

Bayview Elementary School

West Islip School District

Scarlet DellUniversita
Jaquelyn Galeas
Stella Spatolini
Gabriella Genovese

5

Justin DeMaio

Bayview Elementary School

West Islip School District

 

HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM WINNERS

Student

Teacher

High School

District

Lineth A Funes Salgado
Bastian N. Rojas Araya
Lurbin T Ulloa Rodriguez
Wilber Vasquez Vasquez

Ting Pang

Oyster Bay High School

Oyster Bay-East Norwich School District

Naomie Desilier

Kimberly Williams

Smithtown High School West

Smithtown School District

Eve Goldman
Gabriella Spinelli

Kimberly Williams

Smithtown High School West

Smithtown School District

Nadia Mathew
Vanessa Mathew
Abigail Rus

Kimberly Williams

Smithtown High School West

Smithtown School District

Joseph Abbaticchio

Amanda Huff

William Floyd High School

William Floyd School District

Cristy Alvarado Vazquez

Amanda Huff

William Floyd High School

William Floyd School District

Jenessa Basile
Krista Malone
Tianna Johnson
Henry Schoneboom

Amanda Huff

William Floyd High School

William Floyd School District

Nyasia Bass

Amanda Huff

William Floyd High School

William Floyd School District

Lily Crawford

Luisa McHugh

William Floyd High School

William Floyd School District

Nissi Flores Perez

Luisa McHugh

William Floyd High School

William Floyd School District

 

The 20 award-winning videos are available for viewing at youtube.com/psegli. Click the playlist titled “I Am EM-powered PSA contest winners 2022.” Also, a recording of yesterday’s announcement ceremony will be placed in the playlist.

Each winning student receives a $75 Amazon gift card. Winning teachers will get a $100 gift card. And, each classroom teacher receives a $100 Visa gift card to be used with their classroom to celebrate the students’ achievement. The 30 semifinalists in each category will also receive certificates for their achievements.

PSEG Long Island provides educational resources through its robust Community Partnership Program, which includes several educational programs for children of all ages at schools, after-school and camp programs. These shows and programs on energy conservation, electric safety and preparing for an emergency have educated tens of thousands of children. The I Am EM-Powered coursework and contest has been receiving high praise since it was added to the educational programming lineup in 2020.
 


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PSEG Long Island operates the Long Island Power Authority’s transmission and distribution system under a long-term contract. PSEG Long Island is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PSEG) (NYSE:PEG), a publicly traded diversified energy company.