Ozarka® Brand 100% Natural Spring Water and Don’t mess with Texas® award scholarships to high school seniors who are combatting litter in Texas
BlueTriton Brands, through its Ozarka® Brand 100% Natural Spring Water, has teamed up with Don’t mess with Texas® to award scholarships to three Texas high school seniors who are keeping the state litter free!
The Don’t mess with Texas® Scholarship Contest is presented annually in partnership with Keep Texas Beautiful. It recognizes students who are taking an active role in litter prevention at their school or in their community. A total of $9,000 in scholarships was awarded. The 2023 scholarships are sponsored by Ozarka® Brand 100% Natural Spring Water and iHeartMedia.
“We congratulate the “Don’t mess with Texas®” scholarship winners on their leadership efforts in conserving the beautiful landscapes and resources of our Great State,” said Trey Mixon, Natural Resource Manager for the Ozarka® brand.
The winners are as follows:
Ramon Rodriguez, a senior at Presidio High School in Presidio, Texas has been selected as a winner in the 2023 Don’t mess with Texas® Scholarship Contest. Ramon was awarded a $5,000 college scholarship, which he will apply toward his chosen field of study in Biology at the University of Texas Permian Basin.
Ramon started the recycling uplift program in his town and founded Project Homeleaf. With the help of his peers, he added updated environmental artwork, composting methods, and a greenhouse to his community. At the recycling center, Project Homeleaf recycled and reduced the number of materials that go to the landfill. They also organize cleanups for the town. Ramon noticed that the landfill in his town didn’t have a fence. Therefore, small winds would cause light objects to blow away and many items would end up on plants around the area. To combat this, they coordinated drives around town to eliminate the plastic bags that blew onto plants and trees. They are also working with the stores on adopting biodegradable plastic bags as a long-term solution to this issue. Ramon also knew the importance of educating future generations and conducted educational workshops for children and the community about landfills, landfill capacity, and the positives of reducing litter in their community.
“I was determined to do my part. I founded an environmental conservation organization called Project Homeleaf. Our goal is to specialize in the protection of the environment and conserve it,” said Ramon Rodriguez.
Neddah Abdella, a senior at Brownsville Early College High School in Brownsville, Texas has been selected as a winner in the 2023 Don’t mess with Texas® Scholarship Contest. Neddah was awarded a $2,000 college scholarship, which she will apply toward her chosen field of study in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Through the Environmental Club, Neddah organized and participated in local clean-up days, educated the public about the Don’t mess with Texas litter prevention program, and engaged in social media campaigns and other forms of outreach to spread the anti-litter message. She also participated in graffiti removal events and roadside trash and debris clean-up days. Neddah motivated her peers to participate in a school recycling program by making it a competition between the different classes with prizes for the classes that recycled the most. She also organized educational workshops to teach students how to properly sort their waste items. The Environmental club recruited 20 volunteers in the school, they conducted 20 educational meetings to raise awareness about recycling and other educational issues, and they raised $2,000 for their initiatives.
“The recycling rate increased by 10% in the school due to the implementation of the Environmental Club’s initiatives,” said Neddah Abdella.
Hayden Foltz, a senior at Pioneer Technology & Arts Academy in Greenville, Texas has been selected as a winner in the 2023 Don’t mess with Texas® Scholarship Contest. Hayden was awarded a $2,000 college scholarship, which he will apply toward his chosen field of study in Psychology at The University of Texas at Austin.
As President of the National Beta Club, Hayden charged his members with developing a solution to the trash around their campus. This led to Hayden developing and implementing the Trashy Tuesdays campaign. This effort invited groups of volunteers to meet after school at least two Tuesday’s per month with gloves, trash bags, safety vests, and organization sponsors to clean up the campus. As the campaign took off, the effort expanded to a community wide project. Volunteers would meet at local parks to clean up trash and debris and to beautify the community. Hayden and his team of volunteers cleaned litter for 10 hours per month and averaged ten members during each Trashy Tuesday event. Hayden shared that they continued to see a decrease in the amount of trash they would collect on campus, and he feels that leading by example is the best way to motivate others to not litter. He encouraged fellow students to pick up their trash at events, in the classroom, and to participate in Trashy Tuesday cleanups on campus.
“Our Trashy Tuesdays initiative parallels with the Don’t mess with Texas® mantra. Our goal is to beautify our campus and increase student and staff pride in our school. It has grown to a community-wide event,” said Hayden Foltz.
Don’t mess with Texas® has been educating Texans about litter prevention since 1986. The campaign is the signature initiative for TxDOT’s litter prevention programs which include Adopt-a-Highway, a grassroots partnership with Keep Texas Beautiful and the community outreach and cleanup event — the Don’t mess with Texas® Trash-Off.
