Horse Creek Academy students were visited May 1 by C-SPAN, a public service cable and satellite television network, to recognize five students who placed in the broadcasting company’s annual StudentCam documentary competition.
In the school's gym, student winners were given the chance to answer questions about their filmmaking process, from research and script writing to speaking on camera and interviewing experts.
Students Evan Fulmer, Xavier Penvose and Fitz Ahlers placed third with their documentary "Is it Real?" Eryn Fox and Nox Bradford received an honorable mention for their documentary, “The Gender Crisis in America.”
Joining them for recognition was Kalyn Dunn, a Horse Creek student who did not place in the competition, but who also produced and submitted a documentary about the two-party political system in America.
Representing C-SPAN was Zach Lowe, an education research specialist for the public service’s Education Team. Lowe said the Education Team enjoys returning to schools to cheer on young students.
“For us, it’s getting back into the classroom so to speak… spending time with students and celebrating their accomplishments and their success,” he said.
“We really prize the StudentCam competition because it …gives students a voice to share their thoughts, to share their opinions, to share what is on their heart and what matters to them and their communities, the state and nation,” Lowe added.
The winning students shared how they felt about being recognized.
“It’s crazy, when I first did this project, I was not expecting this amount of recognition because at first it was just a school assignment, and then I got to do it by choice,” Fox said. “It’s absolutely unbelievable."
“For me it’s surreal… it’s a new feeling,” said Penvose.
AJ Chambers, Horse Creek's media teacher, said it was good to have students “kind of take ownership of their voice and of the work that they're doing and then be honored for it."
He also mentioned the school band that played to welcome C-SPAN on campus, saying “It’s really awesome today how the school showed out.”
