C-SPAN Visits Mansfield and McKinney To Honor Local StudentCam Documentary Winner

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Students at Ben Barber Innovation Academy and Imagine International Academy of North Texas will be honored at events in partnership with Spectrum and local officials

WASHINGTON (May 3, 2024) – C-SPAN will visit Ben Barber Innovation Academy in mansfield, TX on May 8 at 1:15pm to celebrate and honor students for their winning entries in C-SPAN’s annual student video documentary competition, StudentCam. A C-SPAN and Spectrum representative will join the community in recognizing the following students at an assembly of classmates, teachers, and elected officials.

Drew Lindsey and John Wells, 11th graders at Ben Barber Innovation Academy, won second prize and $1,500 for the video, “The Greatest Competitor,” about U.S.-China relations.

Bright Evbie, Addisyn Richard and Kamron Brown, 10th graders at Ben Barber Innovation Academy, won third prize and $750 for the documentary, “What is Wrong with Our Food?” about obesity and health.

Stanley Knight, Thomas Kariuki and Paige Fassett, 12th graders at Ben Barber Innovation Academy, won honorable mention and $250 for the documentary, “What is Entrepreneurship?”

Claire Kline, Rachel Fornero and Naomi Spence, 11th graders at Ben Barber Innovation Academy, won honorable mention and $250 for the documentary, “Fostering Change in America,” about the foster care system.

C-SPAN will also visit Imagine International Academy of North Texas in McKinney, TX on May 8 at 8:30am for a meet and greet with Anahita Poongundran, Ruchi Gali and Yazhini Arunprakash, 11th graders who won honorable mention and $250 for the documentary “Crossroads of Compassion: Balancing American Aid to Ukraine.” (This event is closed to the public.)

This year, C-SPAN and our cable partners celebrate the 20th anniversary of the StudentCam competition by asking students to address the theme, Looking Forward while Considering the Past. Middle and high school students could choose one of two prompts and produce a short documentary on that theme: In the next 20 years, what is the most important change that you would like to see in America? OR Over the past 20 years, what has been the most important change in America?

“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 as a commercial free public service, who also support StudentCam. In Mansfield and McKinney, C-SPAN is available locally through Spectrum.

“For two decades, StudentCam has provided a platform for students across the country to share their voice on issues important to them and their communities,” said Adam Falk, Senior Vice President of State Government Affairs for Spectrum. “Like this year’s winning students, Spectrum is committed to strengthening the cities and towns where we live and work, and we congratulate our local winners on their outstanding achievement in C-SPAN’s 2024 StudentCam competition.”

Now in its 20th year, over 3,200 students from across the country participated in the contest. 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%)

More than 300 students and 200 educators from across the country are winning a total of $150,000 – C-SPAN gifted an additional $50,000 in teacher prizes this year in honor of the 20th anniversary. C-SPAN is awarding one grand prize, 4 first prizes, 16 second prizes, 32 third prizes and 97 honorable mention prizes. These winning videos will receive cash awards of $5,000, $3,000, $1,500, $750 and $250, respectively. Over the course of two decades, over 63,000 students and 20,000 teachers have participated in the StudentCam competition, and C-SPAN has awarded over $1.5 million in prizes. You can watch all 150 winning videos from this year’s competition at StudentCam.org.

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