Students from Butler Intermediate High School earned awards in a regional video contest Wednesday night.

Two groups of students from Butler Intermediate High School submitted videos to the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing contest created by Catalyst Connection, a Pittsburgh-based economic development company.

One team worked with Ellwood City Forge and the other worked with MECCO, and they both produced a video for their company answering the question in the contest’s title in the most creative and informative way they could.

The team that worked with Ellwood City Forge earned the viewer’s choice award by receiving the most votes, and the team that worked with MECCO earned the award for best manufacturing message, chosen by the staff of Catalyst Connection.

Seventeen teams from six counties — including Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland — submitted videos to the sixth annual What’s So Cool contest. The award ceremony would normally be an in-person banquet event, but it was instead shown as a live broadcast through Youtube this year.

“We’re excited the students can participate virtually,” said Scott Dietz, director of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) initiatives for Catalyst Connection. “It’s a great opportunity for them to stay engaged and be part of the program.”

Catalyst Connection hosts the contest each year to introduce and educate middle school students to manufacturing jobs in their region. Butler Intermediate has entered the contest for the past several years, and normally comes home with an award or two.

Breit Cochran, an eighth-grade history teacher at Butler Intermediate, oversaw the students through the contest and said they were eager to enter the event.

“The kids did a great job on the videos,” Cochran said. “I’m proud of them and the work they have done.”

In addition to the awards won by Butler, other award categories included most creative, exceptional use of technology and overall best video.

The video presentation also featured employees of Catalyst Connection explaining what they do, and the fun and interesting parts of their jobs. Dietz emphasized that there are a multitude of opportunities for jobs in manufacturing and engineering.

He also said he has been impressed each year by the work of Butler County students.

“Butler is very competitive every year; they have a great team of students,” he said.

The videos submitted to the contest will be available to view on What’s So Cool About Manufacturing’s website, and the awards ceremony video is available on Catalyst Connection’s Youtube page.