Juniors Steven Santiago, Thomas Petitit, and Jabea Ewane won $1,500 after getting first place on their video “Dangers Of Fentanyl – FOREVER 16:” I Didn’t Want to Look Lame.”

Around mid-October, Santiago and Ewane were walking the halls when they stumbled across the “Speak Up, Save a Life” public service announcement contest in the hallway. Already being friends, they “decided to give it a shot, [but], didn’t expect to go far,” said Ewane, “but still [they] tried it.” Ewane and Santiago asked their other friend, Petitit, if he wanted to join them.

The three juniors had around a month to produce and submit a video by November 17th. “The main criteria for the video was that it had to address [substance abuse] and the dangers that come with it,” said Ewane.

Santiago, Petitit, and Ewane said they “tried to make it as realistic as possible.” The video showed Petitit as a 16-year-old boy and Santiago, who played his friend. Santiago introduces Petitit to methylenedioxy-methamphetamine, more commonly known as “molly.” To avoid looking lame, Petitit takes the drug, which results in him losing consciousness and dying because it is laced with fentanyl, a deadly opioid known for overdoses, even in small amounts.

The three juniors wanted to spread awareness of the dangers that come with taking illicit drugs, especially fentanyl. As stated in the video, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin. The number of teen overdose deaths linked to fentanyl has tripled in the past two years.

The students also had fun while filming despite the numerous takes to get their final draft. Despite this, Santiago said, “It went by pretty fast.” They submitted the link to their video on a Google form and uploaded it onto YouTube. They plan to split the money in three ways, each getting $500—Ewane plans to put her share into savings, Santiago plans to put his share into driving school, and Petitit intends to put his share into his savings to save up for a car.

Their final words to everyone are to avoid drugs and stay away from bad influences.