Senior Mikayla Allen was ecstatic when she learned that she and fellow senior Grace Martin had won for their public service announcement (PSA) about youth suicide prevention.

“I’ve been wanting to get an award for so long so I can get my name on the TV classroom’s wall,” said Allen. “I’ve never been so happy!”

This is the third year in a row that Springdale Schools has won the Youth Suicide Prevention PSA contest. Over 500 submissions from schools throughout the state were received and in the end, Allen and Martin’s “There is Hope” commercial was selected. “There is Hope” tells the story of three students who were once suicidal but have overcome this struggle.

“We wanted to take an authentic approach, so we interviewed real people who actually used to be suicidal,” said Martin. “We asked them what it was like, then what brought them back from the edge, so we could show a transformation.”

To film the commercial, they wanted the audience to believe that it was shot in a black room. In order to do this, Allen and Martin used an interesting idea to get the job done.

“We hung black curtains on the shower rod in my bathroom as a background, and took the shade off of a lamp to create dramatic lighting,” said Martin.

Trent Jones, who was the adviser and producer of the commercial, was extremely proud to learn that that “There is Hope” had won in the competition.

“Awards like this show that when our students apply skills to their creativity, they can make state wide impact,” said Mr. Jones. “This is a ringing endorsement for the work our TV departments are doing.”

Allen and Martin will be going to Little Rock, Arkansas on April 1 to receive their awards. They hope that their commercial will benefit other people who are going through the same struggles as the students in “There is Hope.”

“Our overall message to a suicidal teen is that no matter what you are going through, you can overcome it,” said Allen. “There is hope.”