When raising awareness about teen issues, sometimes it’s best to have the students themselves do the talking. That’s part of the philosophy behind the Rockwood Drug Free Coalition’s As Seen by Teens PSA and poster contest, and this year, two MHS videos have placed in the top three.

Matt Howard, sophomore, and his partner, Anthony Washington, junior, won first place for their PSA about turning to friends for help instead of drugs.

“Some people have really bad days, some people have times when they’re just going through a lot and instead of turning to their friends or turning to someone who could help them out, like a teacher or a parent, they’ll go to drugs, and they’ll get hooked on drugs, and it’ll mess up their life,” Howard said.

Instead of relying on drugs, the PSA highlights the importance of talking to friends and family about your problems, even if it’s hard.

“It takes some guts to do that but I feel like that’s what people need to do if they’re going through something hard,” Howard said.

The PSA contest is not Howard’s first time educating students about the dangers of drugs; he is a member of Breakdown St. Louis, a team that goes to schools and performs about making good choices.

Howard first heard about Breakdown St. Louis through a friend. After seeing a performance in seventh grade, Howard decided to join.

“I decided I really wanted to do that because I do a lot of performing stuff, a lot of acting and theater and stuff like that so I decided that I wanted to become a part of that team,” Howard said.

Howard was able to use a lot of what he has learned through Breakdown in his PSA

“I don’t know that many people here at Marquette who do really intense type of acting and that’s kind of what we do on my Team Breakdown,” Howard said.

There were prizes for winning first place, but also the opportunity to possibly help someone through a hard time. The PSA will be shown on local television stations and at Six Flags, and Howard said he hopes his video can help people realize that drugs are a serious issue, and inspire them to get help.

“There are so many people today who go through a lot and not a lot of people know about it,” Howard said. “People who are having a bad day or going through something tough can seek out someone and talk to them.”

Emily Kreitman, junior, won third place for her PSA video along with her partners, Samantha Bayne, junior, and Marc Beinder, senior.

Kreitman’s PSA first shows three teenagers living with the negative effects of drugs and alcohol, and then shows how their lives improve when they stop using these substances.

The biggest challenges in making the video were shortening it to the required length; 30 seconds, and finding music that wasn’t copyrighted Emily said. However it payed off when she placed third and received gift cards and a cookie cake for her video.

“I was extremely excited when I got the news that our video placed,” Kreitman said.

Kreitman’s PSA will also play at Six Flags during the spring and fall seasons, and she said she hopes her video can help people realize there is an alternative to using drugs.

“Using drugs can have very harmful effects on anyone, but they are particularly bad for teens whose bodies are still growing,” Kreitman said. “Once you do drugs a few times you can develop an unhealthy addiction which can cause your life to spiral out of control.”