One Minute. Two Global Challenges.

In Upper School AP Environmental Science, Lisa Lariscy is asking students to do something deceptively simple and incredibly complex: explain a global issue, its impact, and a sustainable solution… in just sixty seconds.
“The challenge is fitting something incredibly complex into one minute,” she says. “You have to show what the problem is, why it matters in a world of 8 billion people, and then come up with a sustainable solution. All with clarity and purpose. And you can’t go over, not even by one second.”

The project is rooted in the World of 8 Billion student video contest, an opportunity Lariscy discovered when she joined Mount Vernon in 2021.

“I came across the contest while looking for human population resources for my AP Environmental Science students,” she explains. “At the time, it was called the World of 7 Billion, and I immediately saw how naturally it connected to what we were already studying in class.”

What began as an optional enrichment opportunity has grown into a powerful extension of the AP Environmental Science curriculum. While participation in the contest is never required, many students choose to take their work one step further by submitting their videos to a global audience.

“I never wanted it to feel like just another assignment,” Lariscy says. “Submitting to the contest was always meant to be an opportunity for students who felt proud of their work and wanted their ideas to reach a larger audience.”

The Power of Constraints

Students are given just a few days to research complex global issues, ranging from economics to wetlands to public health, before distilling their findings into a tightly scripted, one-minute video. “They have to document their research, really understand the problem, and then write a script that’s exact,” she says. “It’s a lot of moving parts, research, writing, timing, video production, all coming together.”
For many students, the challenge lies not just in the content but in the clarity. “To take something broad and narrow it down to one specific problem with one actionable solution—that’s the hard part,” Lariscy explains. “That’s where the real thinking happens.”

Making the Global Personal

While the topics are global, the impact becomes personal. “When they’re in school every day, these concepts can feel far away,” she says. “But when they choose their own topic and do their own research, that’s when it clicks.”

Students explore issues like homelessness, plastic pollution, and the health of local wetlands, often connecting global challenges to their own communities.

“We talk about what’s happening right here, like the Chattahoochee River, and why it matters,” Lariscy says. “Some students go global, others stay local. But either way, they’re making meaningful connections.”

Beyond Science: Building Real-World Skills

The project stretches students beyond traditional science learning. Many are producing videos for the first time, learning how to communicate complex ideas with precision and creativity.

“Many students have never created something like this before,” Lariscy says. “They’re learning how to communicate science visually, how to tell a story, and how to make people care about an issue in a very short amount of time.”

The result is a blend of scientific research, storytelling, and technical skill that mirrors the kind of communication required for real-world problem-solving.

This year marked a milestone for Mount Vernon. For the first time, two students earned top recognition in the international competition, an achievement that exceeded all previous years.

“This is definitely the farthest we’ve ever gotten,” Lariscy says. “With thousands of students entering from around the world, getting that email was unbelievable.”

Beyond the recognition, the experience has had a lasting impact on student confidence.

“I want students to understand that their voice matters,” she says. “They may not solve a global problem overnight, but they can raise awareness, spark conversation, and propose meaningful solutions. That’s powerful.”

At its core, the project reflects a central belief of Mount Vernon’s approach to learning: that students are capable of engaging with real-world challenges—and contributing meaningfully to solutions. “These are big, complicated challenges,” Lariscy says. “Environmental issues can feel overwhelming, but instead of turning away from them, students are learning how to engage thoughtfully, ask questions, and think about solutions.”

And sometimes, all it takes is one minute.