2024 High School Winners

Surya Arunkumar is in 9th grade at McNeil High School in Austin, Texas. He found out about the contest two years ago after watching his sister Nila create a video and decided he wanted to participate as well. Last year was his first year entering, and he won first place with his video “E-waste: A Golden Opportunity.” This year, he was drawn to the category of invasive species because he learned about how Africanized honey bees interbred with European honey bees, creating hybrid offspring that had decreased honey output and increased aggressiveness. He was shocked at the impact invasive species can have on crop output and ecosystems but fascinated by the potential solution of using pheromone biocontrol.

Previously, Surya was only slightly aware of the impact that human population growth has on invasive species, but figured that increasing globalization had an influence. He thought that the invasive species category would provide new opportunities for drawing and creative animations, which he has used in previous videos. Surya enjoyed the challenge and process of creating the animations. It took him longer than expected but he was able to experiment with new techniques and styles in Adobe. He said, “it’s really important to pick a topic you’re genuinely interested in so you can have fun…that’s the most important thing, and it will be easier.”

Surya is also a musician and has been playing the violin for six years in the school orchestra. The person who inspires him the most is his sister, Nila, as she can find balance in her life with academic strength but also time for friends and family, which is “the type of time management I hope to have each day,” he reflected. Together, they enjoy tap dancing and participating in talent shows for fun, and have also earned first at the international level in Destination Imagination, a problem-solving competition combining theater and STEM. He also participates in mental math completions, which he finds therapeutic, and received the highest score for any freshman when his school placed second in regional competitions. In the future, Surya would like to explore a career combining his love of mathematics with his enjoyment of soccer, perhaps as a sports analyst. He also plans to donate around half of his prize money to severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) research in honor of his cousin.