2025 2nd Prize High School Central Division – “Gender-Affirming Care, it Saves More Lives Than You Would Think” by Ani Ceccacci

12th Grade student Ani Ceccacci from Royal Oak High School in Michigan won 2nd Prize in the High School Central division for their documentary, “Gender-Affirming Care, it Saves More Lives Than You Would Think.” As a 2nd Prize winner, Ani will receive $1,500 in prize money for their 2nd Prize win.

Ani also won the “Fan Favorite” award and will receive an additional $500 cash prize, having secured the most authenticated votes during a week-long nationwide public voting period.  

StudentCam is C-SPAN’s annual national video documentary competition that encourages students to think critically about issues that affect our communities and our nation. 2025 marked the 21st year of the competition and in this presidential inaugural year, we asked students to explore and analyze matters of personal, local or national importance by addressing the theme — “Your Message to the President: What issue is most important to you or your community?”

C-SPAN is funded by America’s cable and satellite television companies, who also support StudentCam. In Royal Oak, C-SPAN is available locally through Comcast.

Press:

• Press Release: Detroit Area Students Win Prizes in C-SPAN’s National Video Documentary Competition (Google Doc)
• Article: Royal Oak Teen’s Film on Gender Affirming Care in Running for C-SPAN’s Audience Favorite (Oakland County Times)
• Article: Two Royal Oak Students Win Awards in C-SPAN Documentary Competition (Oakland County Times)
• Article: Royal Oak student documentaries stand out (MSN.com)
• Article: Royal Oak Students Excel In C-SPAN Documentary Competition (The Pinnacle Gazette)
• Article: Two Royal Oak students win C-SPAN documentary awards (The Detroit News)
• Article: Detroit Area Students Win Prizes in C-SPAN’s National Documentary Competition (Michigan Mama News)