Student Wins Prize In C-SPAN’s National Documentary Competition
Leah Steup, a student at Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is a 2025 second-prize winner in C-SPAN’s 21st annual StudentCam competition and will receive $1,500 for the video, “Kids First: Indiana’s Child Welfare System.” This documentary will air on C-SPAN on April 7 at 6:50 a.m. ET and throughout the day.
C-SPAN, in cooperation with its cable and satellite television partners, asked middle and high school students to address the theme — “Your Message to the President: What issue is most important to you or your community?”
Now in its 21st year, this project-based learning experience asked students to explore and analyze matters of personal, local or national importance. In response, C-SPAN received over 1,700 entries and nearly 3,500 students participated from 42 states and Washington, D.C. The most popular topics addressed were:
- Climate, Environment, and Land Use (11%)
- K–12 Education Policies and the Cost of College (10%)
- Health Care and Mental Health (10%)
- Gun Violence, School Safety, and Firearm Policies (9%)
- Inflation, Taxes, Government Spending, and the Economy (9%)
“Congratulations to all the incredibly talented young students who won awards in this year’s competition! Through in-depth research and interviews with an array of topical and technical experts, you have crafted impactful short stories that capture issues of wide public interest and importance,” said C-SPAN’s Director of Education Relations Craig McAndrew. “Your documentaries set a very high bar for future StudentCam filmmakers, and you should be proud knowing your work will inspire your peers and foster thoughtful consideration from all audiences. We can’t wait to see what you do next!”
C-SPAN is funded by America’s cable and satellite television companies as a commercial free public service. In Fort Wayne, C-SPAN is available through Comcast, our local partner in StudentCam.
In addition to the grand-prize and first-prize winners, C-SPAN is awarding 16 second prizes, 32 third prizes and 97 honorable mention prizes. These winning videos will receive cash awards of $1,500, $750 and $250, respectively. The StudentCam competition has awarded over $1.6 million in prizes since 2004.
High school students competed on a regional level, with the United States divided into three regions: East, Central and West. 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 funded 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.
C-SPAN Classroom uses the network’s programs on public affairs, coverage of Congress, nonfiction books and American history to create free digital tools for teachers, students, and the public to use in classrooms, in projects or for research. C SPAN Classroom’s website provides social studies teachers with access to thousands of free resources, including short current events videos, Lesson Plans and Bell Ringers, plus Constitution Clips and On This Day in History events. Engage with C SPAN Classroom on X and Facebook.
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