Dependent wins contest for water conservation project

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Wesley Carter
  • 30th Space Wing Public Affairs
A Vandenberg dependent has won the Santa Barbara County Water Awareness video contest.

Brandon Leduc, son of Tech. Sgt. Steve Leduc of the 30th Mission Support Squadron, won the award for the second time in a row.

"Last year three of my friends and me entered the contest and we won," Brandon said. "This year I was the only one that wanted to do it, so I did, and I won."

Brandon a four-year member of the Cabrillio High School aquarium class is happy that he won, not only for the award, but what it means for the aquarium.

"I won a thousand dollar scholarship that was donated to the aquarium in my name," Brandon said. "It is neat to be able to give something back to a place that I took so much from academically."

Some around Brandon are astounded by the hard work that he put into the film.
"I was just amazed at how much footage he took and how he edited hours of it into a 40 second clip," Sergeant Leduc said. "I was truly impressed."

Although Brandon did all the heavy lifting during the project, he did have some help from his family. The clip starred his little brother and aunt, while his grandfather and uncle did the music. Brandon's mother helped with the choreography of the piece, Sergeant Leduc said.

Teamwork that the judges were looking for in the competition: the Water Awareness High School Video Contest's main objective is to increase awareness of the importance of water in local high schools through group participation, the competition committee said.

Brandon's win came at a crucial time in his life, right before his high school graduation.

"It's neat for him to win right before he graduates," Sergeant Leduc said. "It feels good as a parent to know your kid is taking the things he is learning and applying them."

"I was just happy I could do something for the aquarium, and the importance of water conservation," Brandon said.