Lake Washington High School graduate Haley Huntington won two Accolade Awards of Merit from The Accolade Competition of Southern California. The awards are part of the MediaLab team of Pacific Lutheran University students for their 2013 documentary “Tapped Out: Unearthing the Global Water Crisis.”

“Winning two Accolade Awards of Merit is great news for us,” said Huntington, who served as senior producer for the documentary and MediaLab general manager. “Our team worked hard to make the documentary thought-provoking and influential, so it’s a great feeling to be acknowledged.”

Created by a team that included Huntington and three other Pacific Lutheran University students, the documentary focuses on water-related issues across North America. From Canada to Texas, and from Washington D.C. to the Gulf of Mexico, the team discovered stories of drought, water mismanagement and water scarcity in unexpected places. Senior communication majors Katherine Baumann and Kortney Scroger, as well as junior Valery Jorgensen, rounded out the research team.

Tapped Out publicly premiered in Seattle in October 2013 and won in the categories of “Short Documentary” and “Use of Film/Video for Social Change.”

Huntington said the awards are gratifying and rewarding.

During research and production of the film, the students conducted dozens of interviews, meeting with average citizens, farmers, activists, officials from the United Nations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and many other public and private organizations.

These Accolade awards add to more than a dozen other national and international recognitions MediaLab has received, including four Emmy nominations and one Emmy win in 2009. The Accolade recognizes film, television, videography and new media professionals who demonstrate exceptional achievement in craft and creativity, and those who produce standout entertainment or contribute to profound social change. Thomas Baker, Ph.D., chair of The Accolade, praised the recent winners.

“The Accolade is not an easy award to win. Entries are received from around the world. The Accolade helps set the standard for craft and creativity,” Baker said. “The judges were pleased with the exceptionally high quality of entries. The goal of The Accolade is to help winners achieve the recognition they deserve.”