Local Teen Looking For Votes In Video Contest

LAND O’ LAKES, FL – A local teen is looking for help to make her dreams come true – and looking for help to find a source of renewable energy.

Catie Tomasello, 13, of Land O’ Lakes, is a finalist in the National Academy of Engineering’s “Engineering For You” video contest. Her two-minute video, “Wave Wings for the Future,” is currently in fifth place out of the 13 international videos submitted for the People’s Choice Award.

Tomasello is competing against adults and teams from academic institutions, including the engineering department of an Ivy League university.

The video with the most votes on the People’s Choice Award website will win. Although the videos are hosted on YouTube, only the votes on the official page on the NAE website will count toward the contest. The deadline for voting is Thursday, Aug. 1.

Click here to visit the People’s Choice Award page.

“Wave Wings for the Future,” which Tomasello wrote and produced herself, is about her vision for the future where nations work together to harness the power of ocean waves to produce clean and affordable energy. Wave wings are currently used off the coast of Florida in a prototype phase.

While a student at Countryside Montessori Charter School in 2014, Tomasello was on a team from Countryside Montessori Charter School that finished second in the nation in the Exploravision science competition. That team’s project also focused on wave wing technology.

Tomasello’s mother, Heather Tomasello, said her daughter taught herself how to use Go Animate, an animation software, to create the film.

First prize in the “Engineering For You” contest is $5,000, which Tomasello hopes to set aside for film school. She was recently invited by the NAE to attend its annual meeting, which will take place Friday, Oct. 9 in Washington, D.C.

For information, visit https://www.nae.edu/e4u3/.

Images courtesy of Heather Tomasello and Tasha DeLoach Photography

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