A Voice for Animals Contest Prize Winners Announced

Washington, DC—The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and the Humane Education Network (HEN) announced the winners of the 2019 A Voice for Animals contest. The annual contest offers monetary awards to high school students age 14–18 for essay, video, or photography submissions advocating against animal cruelty and for protection of species and prevention of animal suffering.

The winners of the 2019 A Voice for Animals contest include:

• Tracy Chen of Jesup, Georgia, who won for her essay, “A Plastic Predicament.” Her submission, which brought awareness to the impact plastics have on aquatic ecosystems, earned first prize in the “Essay by 16-18 year old” category.
• Killashandra Coetzee of Pretoria, South Africa, who won for her essay, “The Cape Mountain Zebra: From Near Extinction to Possible Return There.” Her submission, which educates readers on the plight of the Cape Mountain Zebra, earned her first prize in the “Essay by 14-15 year old” category.
• Paulina Umansky of Pleasanton, California, who won for her essay, “The Humane Classroom Act.” Her submission, which highlighted her various actions to protect animals from suffering in classrooms, earned first prize in the “Essay/Photographs by a 16-18 year old” category.
• Elyas Masrour of East Setauket, New York, who won for his video, “Piping Plover Education Project.” His video, which describes efforts to preserve the habitats of the piping plover, earned first place in the “Video by 16-18 year old” category.

“Every year I look forward to reading and watching the submissions. It is encouraging to hear from so many compassionate young people who have taken it upon themselves to advocate for animals,” said Regina Terlau-Benford, executive assistant at AWI. “This year’s contest winners will surely continue to have a positive impact on the lives of animals, as well as on their environment, and have set an excellent example for others to follow.”

“The A Voice for Animals contest gives these young animal advocates an opportunity to speak out about how we, as a society, treat animals,” said Cathy Liss, president of AWI. “It is truly inspiring to see the many innovative and creative ideas that the participants came up with to protect species and reduce animal suffering.”

For more information on the A Voice for Animals contest and this year’s winners, visit http://www.hennet.org/contest.php.