A Niles student is being recognized for a video she made on the dangers of bullying.

Carmen Lorenzo, a freshman in the W-A-Y Niles program, created the video for a school project. It was shot in an alley behind her home using two actors: her sister Christina and a cousin from South Bend, Ind. In the video, Christina is walking down the alley carrying a backpack when the bully, her cousin, steals the backpack and pushes Christina to the ground.

Later on in the video, Lorenzo reverses the tape to go back in time to the part where the bully steals the girl’s backpack. When the video starts up again, the bully puts his arm around the girl instead of stealing her backpack.

“The message is ‘don’t bully, befriend,’” Lorenzo said. “I did it to show people how things can be better and how they both could be happy instead of one hurting the other.”

W-A-Y Niles team leader Bill Prenkert said Lorenzo’s video is the best student-created video he has seen since the program began in the fall.

“It is a great example of what a student can accomplish through W-AY- program projects,” Prenkert said.

W-A-Y, or Widening Advancements for Youth, is a national education program designed as an alternative to traditional schooling. Niles began offering the W-A-Y Niles program to students in the fall.

Prenkert said W-A-Y officials are considering using Lorenzo’s story and video on its national website, wayprogram.net.

“It is very crazy,” Lorenzo said. “I never thought anything would come of it or that people would like it that much, but I am glad. People need to realize bullying isn’t something fun to do with your friends, it can ruin a life.”

Lorenzo shot and edited the video at home using equipment provided by the school. Each W-A-Y Niles student — there are 40 — gets a home iMac workstation.

Lorenzo attended traditional schooling in Niles until a health issue made it difficult for her to attend normal high school.