Six enterprising Troy students have taken strides toward a $110,000 grant from South Korean technology giant Samsung.

The “Solve for Tomorrow” grant is offered yearly to schools across the country to help Americans pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.

Fifteen schools will win a grant of at least $40,000 for technology, while five of those schools will win $110,000. Troy Middle/High School has made it to the second round of the grant selection process, limited to just 75 nationwide. 

The catch? Make a two-minute video detailing how STEM can help improve the environment in your community.

“We’re taking advantage of living in a wooded/wilderness place,” said Sarah Davis, Troy’s GEAR-Up liaison. “It’s for students to learn how to track animals. Habitat and behavior, that sort of thing.”

The prompt is intentionally left vague to give a fighting chance to each of the 75 schools, 25 of which come from rural areas like Troy. Another 25 are suburban and the last third is urban.

Each of the 75 schools was given a laptop, video editing software and an HD camera, worth about $1,300. 

The Yaak Valley Forest Council, and its representative Shawna Kelsey, has teamed up with the six students working on the project. The students, ranging from seventh grade on up to a senior in high school, are passionate about the grant and the money it could bring to the school.

It also doesn’t hurt that they get to make a movie.

“I really like it,” said eighth-grader Kaylee Stecher. “I enjoy editing, so it is fun.”

The Troy group found out after Thanksgiving they had made the first cut, and have until Jan. 31 to send the finished project to Samsung. 

The interviewing and filming is mostly done, and the editing stage is in full force.

The videos will be made public in May, and people will be able to vote on the videos for their favorites.

Even if Troy does not make the next cut, Davis says the experience will be valuable for students involved.

“Kids know about animals from hunting,” she said. “The purpose of this project is to broaden knowledge, to give them some career knowledge.”

For more information on the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow grant, visit http://pages.samsung.com/us/sft/home.html.