WOODLAWN — Mount Carmel High School senior Elijah Wilborn was pulled up in front of the entire school Monday morning and surprised with a $15,000 scholarship.
Wilborn, of Woodlawn, thought he was being recognized as a finalist for a video he made on the dangers of distracted driving for the TeenDrive365 Video Challenge from Toyota and Discovery Education.
“I’m lost for words,” said a clearly shocked Wilborn holding a giant check in front of the entire student body that was chanting, “Speech.”
Wilborn’s parents sat slack jawed and then leapt to their feet when they realized what was happening in the gymnasium of the school at 6410 S. Dante Ave.
“They just told us they were doing a student recognition ceremony,” said Wilborn’s mother, Andrienne Wilborn. “I had no idea, none.”
Mount Carmel Elijah Wilborn won a $15,000 scholarship Monday for a video he made on the dangers of distracted driving. [DNAinfo/Sam Cholke]
Wilburn’s winning video shows a teen driver harassed by his friends dressed up to represent ego, pride, cell phones, the radio and all of the other distractions that can confuse a young driver.
“We loved how Elijah’s PSA addressed driving safety with creativity, humor and a clear-eyed view of the distractions that face drivers of all ages,” said Michael Rouse, president of the Toyota USA Foundation. “We offer him our heartfelt congratulations and are proud to help share his vision for encouraging other teens to drive more safely.”
Wilborn will now get a chance to remake the video with a professional film crew and have the video shown on the Discovery Channel and all of its affiliated channels.
“This is what I want to do when I get older, I want to be a filmmaker, so this is kismet,” Wilborn said.
Wilborn will attend Santa Barbara City College in California in the fall with a focus on filmmaking.
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