Twin brothers from Montgomery County, Maryland, and 13 other D.C.-area students will have their documentaries aired nationwide as winners of a national competition.
Tyler and Dermott Foley of Eastern Middle School in Silver Spring, Maryland, are the winners of C-SPAN’s national 2022 StudentCam competition. Their documentary, “What Happened to Gibson Grove?,” explored how highway expansion in the United States impacted people of color, with a focus on one Black community in Cabin John, Maryland, called Gibson Grove.
The Foleys won $5,000, and “What Happened to Gibson Grove” will air on C-SPAN at 6:50 a.m. and throughout the day April 21.
More than 3,000 students across the country took part in the contest, which asked students to create a short documentary that address the theme, “How does the federal government impact your life?”
Evelyn Shue and Ida Chen, two high school students from Montgomery County, took first prize in the East region, winning $3,000. The pair tackled the theme by examining the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 in their documentary, “Something in the Water,” which will air on C-SPAN at 6:50 a.m. and throughout the day on April 19.
The following students won second prize in the contest and will receive $1,500:
- Varun Srinivasan, Daniel Franca-Koh and Noa Dubnov, students at Eastern Middle School, for the documentary, “Connection Lost: Broadband Inequality and the Digital Divide.” It will air on C-SPAN at 6:50 a.m. ET and throughout the day April 9.
- Sophia Jones, Lilia Lash and Riley MacArthur, students at Eastern Middle School, for the documentary, “Not Applicable: Religious Exemptions and the Effects of Title IX.” It will air on C-SPAN at 6:50 a.m. ET and throughout the day April 5.
- Anjali Harrison and Isabella Langlee, students at Eastern Middle School, for the documentary, “Guilty Until Proven Innocent.” It will air on C-SPAN at 6:50 a.m. ET and throughout the day April 13.
- Nick Bourg, Maggie Megosh and Trini Szell, students at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, for the documentary, “In Google We Trust,” about big tech data collection. This documentary will air on C-SPAN at 6:50 a.m. ET and throughout the day April 15.
Dozens of other students in the D.C. region received cash prizes in the competition. C-SPAN received more than 1,400 entries from 41 different states, D.C., Morocco and South Korea. The 150 winning videos can be viewed on the competition’s website.