Springbrook Student Wins National Slogan Competition (Video)
One local high school student was honored in a special ceremony marking his accomplishments in a national contest aimed at encouraging teens to stay away from drugs and alcohol.
MyMCMedia’s Valerie Bonk has the story of Springbrook High School senior Santiago Romero and his award winning slogan.
Santiago Romero was was given a challenge by his high school marketing teacher to enter a national slogan contest sponsored by clothing store H&M and Mentor Foundation USA.
“This contest is based on what keeps you motivated to be drug free now and in the future so I just put my own opinion as a regular kid,” Santiago Romero, a senior at Springbrook High School in Silver Spring. “To be honest I didn’t want to do it but I looked at it for a while and my teacher she pushed me and I found the creativeness inside me to come up with the slogan.”
And his hard work paid off. His slogan “success is my addiction” topped 86,000 entries nationwide to become a part of a new t-shirt design that is almost sold out of stores worldwide.
“Everything is possible,” Samuel Rivera, principal at Springbrook High School. “He had a vision with the help of of course Ms. Nelson pushing him along saying he could do this, but the message that he was sending to them was that everybody can be successful. Hard work and determination that he was able to do it so he’s sending that message to his classmates.”
During the ceremony, Santiago was awarded with a proclamation from the County Council recognizing his success. Leaders from Mentor Foundation USA used the senior’s slogan as an opportunity to educate the students on the dangers of drugs and alcohol.
“The hope for the message is to really just spread the message of prevention by doing that through the words of young people,” said Jamila Sams, program director at Mentor Foundation USA. “We do a lot to organize these programs and campaigns but really the impact comes from young people spreading the message of prevention to each other.”
For Santiago’s marketing teacher who inspired him, she hopes his dedication inspires others.
“He just didn’t believe in himself, he kept saying ‘oh I can’t do this Ms. Nelson. And I think part of being a teacher is to drill down inside yourself and help the kids do that so they can realize all that they’re capable of doing and really that’s what happened with him,” said Lynn Nelson, a teacher at Springbrook High School.
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