Students nationwide tackle topics that are important to them,
including artificial intelligence, abortion, and climate
C-SPAN announced that students in various cities in California are 2024 prize winners in C-SPAN’s 20th annual StudentCam competition.
Meital Zayats, a student at Isaac Graham Newton Middle School in Mountain View, will receive $3,000 as a first prize winner for the documentary, “Beyond Just Sci-Fi: AI Reshaping America’s Tomorrow.” This documentary will air on C-SPAN on April 17 at 6:50 a.m. ET and throughout the day.
Brendan Giang, Emily Tang and Max Reiter, students at Palo Alto Senior High School in Palo Alto, will receive $3,000 as first prize winners for the documentary, “Threads of Change,” about fast fashion. This documentary will air on C-SPAN on April 20 at 6:50 a.m. ET and throughout the day.
Aria Rani Sindledecker, a student at Mountain View High School, will receive $1,500 as a second prize winner for the documentary, “Mentally Educated.” This documentary will air on C-SPAN on April 8 at 6:50 a.m. ET and throughout the day.
An Nguyen, Liam Johnson and Annelise Sailer, students at Palo Alto Senior High School, will receive $250 as honorable mention winners for the documentary, “The Future of AI in Education.”
Logan Benin and Connor Benin, twin students at James Logan High School in Union City, will receive $250 as honorable mention winners for the documentary, “America’s Access To Nutritious Foods: A Privilege Or A Basic Human Right?”
Matthew Schnaider, Kyan Wai and Amy Ordaz, students at Heritage High School in Brentwood, will receive $250 as honorable mention winners for the documentary, “FDA Regulation.”
Qingjie Meng and Faza Pasarlay, students at Natomas Charter School in Sacramento, California, are 2024 honorable mention prize winners in C-SPAN’s 20th annual StudentCam competition and will receive $250 for the documentary, “Understanding School Shootings.”
Ethan Lee, a student at Crystal Springs Uplands School in Hillsborough, will receive $750 as a third prize winner for the documentary, “Threads of Change,” about fast fashion and textile waste.
Alexander Boesch and Oliver Boesch, students at Menlo School in Atherton, will receive $250 as honorable mention prize winners for the documentary, “NIMBYism: Why Affordable Housing is so Difficult in California.”
C-SPAN, in cooperation with its cable television partners, asked middle and high school students to address the theme, “Looking Forward while Considering the Past,” through one of the following prompts:
- In the next 20 years, what is the most important change that you would like to see in America?
- Over the past 20 years, what has been the most important change in America?
Now in its 20th year, this project-based learning experience gives students the opportunity to explore multiple perspectives on topics that are important to them. In response, over 3,200 students participated, and C-SPAN received over 1,600 entries from 42 states and Washington, D.C. The most popular topics addressed were:
- Artificial Intelligence, Technology, and Social Media (18%)
- Abortion, Health Care, and Mental Health (17%)
- Climate, Energy & Land Use, and Pollution (13%)
- School Safety, Gun Policy, and Criminal Justice (11%)
- Economy, School Funding, and Homelessness (8%)
“In recognition of the 20th anniversary of C-SPAN’s StudentCam competition, this year we asked students to either look 20 years into the future or to reflect on a topic of importance to them and its past,” said Craig McAndrew, director of C-SPAN Education Relations. “Students have skillfully blended their perspectives with in-depth research and an array of expert interviews, and we are thrilled to share their accomplishments with their local communities, and the nation.”
C-SPAN is funded by America’s cable television companies, who also support StudentCam. In Palo Alto, Mountain View, Union City and Brentwood, C-SPAN is available locally through Comcast.
“For two decades, StudentCam has served as a catalyst for inspiring young minds to think critically about issues that are important to them and we at Comcast are proud to be a part of that legacy. We congratulate these talented students on this outstanding achievement in the 2024 competition.”
Beth Hester, External Affairs Vice President, Comcast, California Region
In honor of the 20th year of the competition, C-SPAN is gifting educators an additional $50,000, for a total of $150,000 in student and teacher cash prizes and awards. More than 300 students and 200 teachers from across the country are winning participants. C-SPAN is awarding one grand prize, 4 first prizes, 16 second prizes, 32 third prizes and 97 honorable mention prizes. The winning videos will receive cash awards of $5,000, $3,000, $1,500, $750 and $250, respectively.
Over the course of two decades, C-SPAN has awarded more than $1.5 million in prizes. Since 2004, over 63,000 students and 20,000 teachers have participated in the competition. StudentCam has been a catalyst for inspiring young minds to think critically about issues that are important to them and has empowered them with the tools they need to become informed, civically engaged citizens.
High School students competed regionally in one of three regions: West, Central and East. Middle school students were judged on a national basis. The grand prize winner was selected nationally among all regions and grade levels.
The 150 winning videos can be viewed at studentcam.org and may be used in a broadcast with attribution to C-SPAN. To schedule an interview with one or more of the winning students, please contact Pam McGorry at pmcgorry@c-span.org.
The annual StudentCam competition is sponsored by the C-SPAN Education Foundation. Videos were evaluated by a panel of educators and C-SPAN representatives based on the thoughtful examination of the competition’s theme, quality of expression, inclusion of varying sides of the documentary’s topic, and effective incorporation of C-SPAN programming.
