Pleasant Valley student reaches semi-finals in international contest for science

BETTENDORF, Iowa (KWQC) - A junior at Pleasant Valley High School is one of only thirty students, from around the world, who have made it to the semi-finals in an international competition for science communication. The contest is named the Breakthrough Junior Challenge where students are asked to create a two-minute video that turns a complicated scientific topic into something easier to understand.

Himanshu Jangid has entered the contest twice before but has never been considered for the peer-review round that select 75 out of thousands of submissions. After making it to the top-75 this year, his was reviewed by a panel of scholars and scientists who chose him to move on to the next round, sending Jangid into the top-30.

A public vote will decide who makes it to the finals. Jangid’s video is posted on Breakthrough’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. To vote, you simply “like” the post and video. Voters are allowed to “like” both the Facebook post and YouTube video. One person can essentially vote twice.

The winner of the contest will receive 250,000 dollars in scholarship funds, as well as an additional 100,000 dollars for a lab to be built at his school. Each student in the contest can nominate a teacher who would win 50,000 dollars in prizes. Jangid selected his biology teacher at Pleasant Valley High School, Audrey Holland.

Jangid says he is shocked he has made it this far and is excited to know he still has a chance to win the contest.

“It would just be something that I achieved in a field that I’m really passionate about,” said Jangid, “and then if by some stroke of luck, I do become the winner, then that is just completely life changing.”

Voting ends on Wednesday, September 20. The winner will be announced before the end of the year.

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