Dillon Deaton
Third Place
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
$1,500 Scholarship
- Barbara Pritchett-Hughes yells, "Its done. It's over," as she slams her son, DeAndre Hughes, casket shut at his funeral on Friday, July 29, 2016. Hughes was fatally shot a week earlier in Compton, California. Barbara said her mind instantly flashed back to nine years earlier when her 15-year-old son, Dovon Harris, was fatally shot in Watts.
The threat of being shot to death remains a daily risk as killings in Los Angeles county rose 27.5% in 2016 compared to the same period last year. - Firefighters fight the Sherpa fire along a trail behind the El Capitan Canyon camp in Santa Barbara, CA. The Santa Barbara County brush fire grew to over 7,500 acres and burned over the period of a month.
As the drought continues in California for its fifth year, wildfires have burned more than 30,000 acres on state and federal land. This is equal or slightly greater than the same period in 2015, which saw a total of 307,598 acres burned. - Sydney Lahowin, left, and Noah Rymer share a kiss as they watch the fireworks at the 112th annual Huntington Beach 4th of July Celebration at the Huntington Beach Pier on Monday, July 4, 2016. Thousands of people turned out to the area for the celebration, which included a parade and fireworks.
- Once a famed Bocas del Toro fisherman, Inocencio Chencho Castillo has made it his lifes mission to watch over the same turtles he used to kill. My wife told me to take the chance, to see if things would turn out for the better, Chencho said. And since 1989, Ive seen the changes. A conservationist change.
Bocas del Toro is a tropical region on the Caribbean coast of Panama, know mostly for its picturesque beaches and topography. Until the early 21st century, the coral reef in Bocas del Tora was teeming with life and vibrant colors. Several different issues in the region have caused the reef to turn to a mute brown as it struggles for its life. Many sea creaturesincluding the sea turtle have relocated in an effort to survive. In the last century alone, there has been a devastating decline in the population of hawksbill turtles with over 80 percent of the population disappearing.
Castillo is a prime example of those being moved by the suffering ecology to make a life-changing move in the region. Scientists say that out of a thousand turtles, just one can survive. But I dont believe that, Chencho says. I think that number is too little. - A voter registers to cast her vote as others wait in line to cast their ballots in the California presidential primary on Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at the Sabores De Oaxaca restaurant in Los Angeles, California.
More than 8.5 million ballots were cast in the California primary. Unlike the primary for state officials, the presidential primary consists of different rules for each party, which made it difficult for voters to choose any candidate. Some citizens believe the presidential primary does not have the voter mind. - Tatiana McLee-Jackson marches outside of the LAPD headquarters before the start of an anti-police brutality protest on Saturday, July 9, 2016.
Protest's erupted across Los Angles in response to the police shooting deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castille in early July. The number of police killings in Los Angeles county has been especially high, causing strong tension between protesters and the LAPD. According to a database compiled by the Guardian Newspaper, the Los Angeles Police Department killed more people than any other law enforcement agency in the United States in 2015.