MOORHEAD — With 250 entries submitted, the winner of The Minnesota Department of Health's Escape the Vape Video Contest is from Moorhead High School.
The statewide first-place winner is Mohamed Mustafa, an 18-year-old who's ready to graduate and head to Concordia College to study nursing. On Thursday, May 5, the Department of Health presented Mustafa and Moorhead High with the first-place award.
"(I had) a lot of support from this high school, from the community members, and it was amazing," Mustafa said.
The award-winning video titled, "Don't let vaping take that away from you" cuts right to the chase. It is a message to middle and high school kids that vaping takes away too much from a student's success.
"I hope it motivates others and just sends the message of, 'vaping is bad for you,'" Mustafa said.
ADVERTISEMENT
As part of winning First Place, Mustafa and the school were each awarded $500.
"I think I have a talent of (...) getting to know people. I don't know people's backgrounds and everything, but I just go up with a straight smile and a good handshake, and everything works out," Mustafa said.
He's humble, smart and grateful to those who have guided him and says his parents helped him make good choices.
"I love my parents. They are proud of me, and they taught me so much," he said. "My parents taught me to be close to people who will motivate me to do good things, and vaping is not a good thing, as you know."
The journey to where Mustafa is now was a long one, as they made their way to Moorhead from Africa.
"I am a Minnesotan now," he said, laughing.
