Members of the Williamsburg Christian Academy Leadership Class have won grand prize for their film submission in the national Duralife® Unlocker Challenge contest. The grand prize consists of $50,000 in new lockers for the school, as well as $7,500 in scholarships for the participating students.

The Williamsburg Christian Academy entry needed to receive enough votes on its entry posted to the Unlocker Challenge website by April 15th to advance it to the final judging phase, which was defined as the top 100 vote getters, against 340 schools enrolled in the competition. WCA advanced to the finals on April 21st, where their entry was the unanimous choice for first prize with the contest judges.

Our students created a video that looked literally “through the locker door” to demonstrate many aspects of inclusivity in a student’s life. The team used traditional videography as well as green screen technology and a drone to produce the winning video. Dr. Dianna Lindsay served as the adviser on the project.

“I am thrilled that our Leadership Class was able to create a national award winning video that braided together research, images, and a story that not only accurately addresses the mission of our school but that was also well received by the judges!” commented Project Faculty Advisor Dr. Dianna Lindsay.

The Duralife® Unlocker Challenge is a national video competition designed to create an enriching learning experience for students, while providing schools the opportunity to win free lockers and scholarships. Open to high school and middle school students, the Duralife® Unlocker Challenge asked students to explore the theme of inclusivity and to show how it happens – or can happen – in their school environment, with the goal of fostering dialogue, empowering students to think inclusively, and helping unlock their potential for collaboration, creativity, discovery, and social interaction.

Each entry was judged on the contest objective: Create an original video, using the theme ‘Through the Locker Door’ to show how inclusivity happens—or can happen—in the entrant’s school; why inclusivity is key to a more positive school climate; how collaboration and inclusive social interaction can inspire creativity and discovery; and why thinking inclusively will make students stronger individuals throughout their lives.

Members of the Scranton Products leadership team, makers of the Duralife Line of school lockers, were on hand at the school on May 5th, 2016 to present WCA with the award, including President Don Wharton, Director of Sales and Marketing David Casal, and Marketing Manager Maria Knapp.

We congratulate the many students directly involved with the making of the video, and thank the entire school for getting behind the voting effort to get us into the finals, as well as almost the entire student body, which appeared in the closing scene of the video.

If you have not yet seen the entry to the Unlocker Challenge, you can view it here, or click below: