Levittown Student a Winner in NYCM Insurance Video Contest

Story Liz Sobel, Syntax.

Levittown’s MacArthur High School student Laura DelPiano is the second-place winner in the NYCM Insurance “Dangers of Distracted Driving” Video Contest.

During a presentation in the school auditorium, Robert Snyder, NYCM’s assistant vice president of marketing, presented Laura with a certificate and MacArthur High School with a prize-winning check for $10,000.  

Laura is enrolled in the business department’s Digital Media 2 class and collaborated with student-videographers Samantha Johnson, Alyssa Lerro, elementary school student Peter Soguero, Sam Soguero and Ryan Walsh to create a short film about texting and driving.  

RELATED: MacArthur HS Student Named to Top 3 in Contest 

“It doesn’t matter if there is a new driver on the road or an experienced driver,” Laura stated during the award presentation in the school auditorium. “All drivers need to pay more attention behind the wheel of a car.”   

According to a study by the Pew Research Center, 48 percent of all teens between the ages of 12 and 17 say they have ridden in a car while the driver was texting.

In addition to texting, dangerous driving distractions also include cellphone use, eating and drinking, setting a GPS, surfing the Web, selecting music and grooming. Eleven percent of drivers under 20 who were involved in fatal car crashes were reported to be distracted at the time of the accident.

The district would like to congratulate Laura DelPiano and fellow videographers on their accomplishment in creating a video that will surely pass on the message to pay attention at the wheel. 

Photo Caption: Levittown’s MacArthur High School student Laura DelPiano, center, and (l-r) Sam Soguero, Ryan Walsh, Samantha Johnson and Alyssa Lerro hold a prize-winning mock check for the second-place winning video produced for the NYCM Insurance “Dangers of Distracted Driving” Video Contest. They are pictured with Robert Snyder, NYCM’s assistant vice president of marketing. Elementary school student Peter Soguero is not pictured.