Atlanta Students Win Prizes in C-SPAN Contest

As the nation commemorates its historic 250th anniversary, C-SPAN announced that students in Atlanta, Alpharetta, and Suwanee have earned national recognition as 2026 winners in C-SPAN’s annual StudentCam documentary competition.

Max Mendes, a student at The Davis Academy, was a third-prize winner and will receive $750 for the documentary, “Liberty For Sale: Who Really Has A Voice In America?” about campaign finance. C-SPAN also recognized Kendrick Phillips who served as an adviser and mentor throughout the StudentCam competition, helping guide this nationally recognized achievement.

Ashaan Patel, a student at The Westminster Schools, was an honorable mention prize winner and will receive $250 for the documentary, “The Loneliness Epidemic,” about loneliness and social isolation in older adults.

Adrith Iyer and Aydin Wada, students at FCS Innovation Academy, were honorable mention prize winners and will receive $250 for the documentary, “A Bulletproof Nation,” about gun violence. C-SPAN also recognized Lawrence McGilicuddy who served as an adviser and mentor throughout the StudentCam competition, helping guide this nationally recognized achievement.

Ayanfeoluwa Anjoorin, a student at Peachtree Ridge High School was an honorable mention prize winner and will receive $250 for the documentary, “THE GAP – Immigrants and the First Amendment.”

Through this project-based learning experience, students engaged in in-depth research, critical analysis, and original storytelling to explore matters of both personal and national importance. The response was extraordinary: C-SPAN received more than 1,800 documentary submissions from nearly 4,000 students representing 38 states and Washington, D.C., underscoring the competition’s broad national reach and civic impact.

The 150 winning videos can be viewed at studentcam.org.