TAMPA — Ellen Jannereth of Tampa is one of 16 finalists for the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, an international competition working to inspire "creative thinking about science."

Jannereth submitted an original video on a topic of her choosing within life sciences, physics, or math.

"The whole idea for this competition is to be able to explain a complex subject in three minutes or less and in a way the general public can understand," she said.

Jannereth's video focuses on quantum tunneling, a phenomenon where a wave function can move through a potential barrier.

She used animation, sound effects, outdoor scenery, and simple objects like a ball to help her explain this complex topic.

Jannereth said she first became interested in the topic while she was a student at Carrollwood Day School in Tampa.

"I just thought it was the coolest thing so I decided to research more, and eventually I decided to make that the topic of my video," she said.

Jannereth credits her teachers, like Lisa Esch, for sparking her interest in science.

"We live in a technology driven society and science is the basis of that technology," Esch said. "So it's important to learn about it so we can make advancements in the future."

Esch said her students have a natural curiosity, and Jannereth is a shining example of that.

"When you combine that curiosity with her hard work, her self-motivation, and inner drive, it becomes all that much more precious and rare," Esch said.

Sara Rubinstein is the Head of Carrollwood Day School. She said there is a lot of school pride about Jannereth's accomplishment.

"Of course, I'm incredible proud and amazed and especially amazed because she did this on her own. This wasn't a school assignment or anything she was told to do. She did this independently. So I'm amazed but not surprised. Ellen has always been a student who reaches above and beyond and exceeds everyone's expectations," she said.

Jannereth's father, Paul, expects his daughter to go far.

"A friend of mine who was her teacher said that 'Ellen is going to Mars, she's going to go.' She wants to explore physics in that realm I think. So anything she puts her mind to, this girl has been driven and just ready to go out and succeed," he said. "I'm very, very proud of her."

The winner of the competition will receive a $250,000 scholarship, $50,000 for a teacher who inspired them, and a new $100,000 science lab for their high school.

Jannereth said she's excited about being a finalist out of more than 3,000 entries from around the world.

She hopes her video shows people a different way of looking at the world and at themselves.

"I hope to inspire other people to maybe pursue their passions in STEM, as well," she said.

Jannereth is currently a freshman at Cornell University where she plans to major in physics.

Click here to view Jannereth's video as well as the other finalists.