2024 Middle School Winners

Darya Maksimov is in the 8th grade at Twin Oaks Middle School in Prior Lake, Minnesota. She found out about the contest in her science class this year. She chose the health topic because she wanted to share a solution to some of the challenges. Darya was shocked to learn that a top reason why people in the U.S. don’t get vaccines is because they are hesitant to, not because of lack of access or cost.

Darya took inspiration from educational videos she has watched. She chose a color palette and planned her animation based on the style of those she enjoyed. The most challenging part of the project was editing all the drawings to make sense together and making sure the video was smooth. She used Notability, a drawing program, to create her images and CapCut to edit her video. Some advice she has for future participants is to “choose a topic that you are interested in and find a solution that you relate to, because you will connect with it more.” Darya also suggests finding an editing app that is easy to use because even though it is only one minute, it can take a lot of time to finalize your video.

Darya plays tennis, practices the guitar, and likes to crochet. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with friends and reading as much as she can. She has a fraternal twin sister and a Yorkie terrier named Pooshkin. Darya said her mom, who is a nurse, and her dad, who works in IT, are her role models. She shared that “they both came here from Estonia, which I find really inspiring because they started from nothing and are very hard working and devoted people.” She is also thankful for her teachers, Mr. Wabbe, who introduced her to the contest and also her 7th grade teacher that inspired her to go into biology. She is on the principal’s honor roll, won an Earth Day art contest at her school this year, and has been nominated for numerous character awards by her teachers. Darya has always been interested in health and cardiology, and has plans to go to an Ivy League school in the future.