C-SPAN bus delivers awards to Sacramento-area student documentarians

A red, 45-foot customized C-SPAN bus rolled into Elk Grove and Davis on Thursday to honor winners in the network’s annual student documentary contest.

The first stop was Franklin High School in Elk Grove where C-SPAN staffers handed out StudentCam awards to four documentary teams in front of their peers. The students were among 150 students and 53 teachers nationwide awarded a total of $100,000 for their entries. C-SPAN received videos from almost 5,000 students, according to a news release from the organization.

The top honorees locally were Joshua Hamilton, Tyler Staby and Connor Krohn, who received a second-place award for their film “9066.”

Their documentary looks at the impact of Executive Order 9066, which called for the internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The students interviewed former internees, including Marielle Tsukamoto, 77, who was 5 when her family was forced to leave their Florin home and move to a 16-by-20-foot barrack in Jerome, Ark. The boys received $1,500 for their second-place award and $250 for their class.

Third-place prizes went to the team of Ashley Butler, Michelle Seo and Rhian Advincula for “Home is where your Heart is” and the team of Samantha Mike, Jacklyn Hughes and Jhosua Islas for “The GI Bill: An Investment in the Future of the Nation.” Each team of third-place winners received $750 and $125 for their classroom.

An honorable mention award went to Kaitlyn Foster, Tristen Hayes and Samantha Woo for “The Future of America’s Education: Common Core.”

The bus continued to Davis Senior High School at noon to honor Krystal Lau with an honorable mention for her film “The Cost of Knowledge.” Lau won $250.

The annual contest asks students to make video documentaries about issues critical to their communities and nation. This year, students were asked to create a five- to seven-minute video exploring the topic “The three branches and you: Tell a story that demonstrates how a policy, law or action by either the executive, legislative or judicial branch has affected you and your community.”

C-SPAN offers public affairs programs on television and radio, as well as a website with live and archived video. Visit www.studentcam.org to watch all of the honored videos.

This story was originally published March 19, 2015 at 5:43 PM with the headline "C-SPAN bus delivers awards to Sacramento-area student documentarians."