Pope John Paul II student wins statewide contest

ROYERSFORD >> A local high school student has been named a winner in a statewide public service announcement contest sponsored by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.

Hank McNeil, a student at Pope Paul II High School in Royersford, was named the winner in Attorney

General Josh Shapiro’s annual Safe2Say Something PSA contest.

McNeil was named one of three finalists earlier this month with Ben Swayze of North Hills Senior High School in Pittsburgh (2nd place), and Alexis Habbershon of Middletown Area High School in Middletown (3rd place).

In a close ballot, Hank received 38 percent of the votes cast to

Ben’s 31 percent and Alexis’ 30 percent.

As the winner, Hank received a GoPro Silver 7.

Participants were tasked with creating a 30-second PSA video related to the importance of the Safe2Say Something Program. The Safe2Say Something program is a youth violence prevention program run by the Pennsylvania Office

of Attorney General. The program teaches youth and adults how to recognize warning signs and signals, especially within social media, from individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others and to “say something” before it is too late.

In order to participate each entrant must be enrolled as a student at a Pennsylvania public, private, or parochial high school. High school-grade homeschool students residing in Pennsylvania are also eligible to participate. Students may work individually or as a team of up to three students limited to one entry per person or team.

To view entries by all three semi-finalists visit https://www. safe2saypa.org/vote/