Bergen County Academy students will be honored at ceremony, in partnership with Optimum and local officials

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Hackensack NJ, C-SPAN will visit Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, New Jersey on Friday, May 30 at 1:45pm to celebrate and honor students for their Honorable Mention winning entries in C-SPAN’s annual student video documentary competition, StudentCam. C-SPAN and Optimum, the leading provider of fiber internet, mobile, and TV services, will join the community in recognizing the winners as well as their teacher, Scott Lang, who served as their StudentCam adviser, at an assembly of classmates, teachers, family members, and elected officials.

• Luna Cannone and Nora Cullen, sophomores, won Honorable Mention and $250 for their video, The Right to Bear Arms;
• Hyunseo Rye and HaEun Jung, sophomores, won Honorable Mention and $250 for their video, Gun Violence: America’s Darkest Achievement;
• Jenny Xu and Sophia Lee, sophomores, won Honorable Mention and $250 for their video, Housing: An Impossible Dream;
• Josephine Lee, junior, won Honorable Mention and $250 for the video, America’s Transit Crisis: How We Lost Our Way (And How to Get Back On Track

This year, 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?” In response, C-SPAN received over 1,700 entries and nearly 3,500 students participated from 42 states and Washington, D.C

“Congratulations to all of 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 Hackensack, C-SPAN is available through Optimum

“Optimum is proud to continue its collaboration with C-SPAN and to celebrate the achievements of local winners in the 2025 StudentCam competition,” said Jen Ostrager, Senior Vice President at Optimum. “Our company is deeply dedicated to enhancing educational opportunities for students throughout the communities we serve. We extend our heartfelt appreciation to all middle and high school students for their exceptional efforts in submitting such innovative and compelling entries. Congratulations to the winning students on this remarkable accomplishment!”

Now in its 21st year, this project-based learning experience asked students to explore and analyze matters of personal, local or national importance. 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%)

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.You can watch all 150 winning videos from this year’s competition at StudentCam.org.

 

 

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