2026 2nd Prize High School Central Division – “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: Is that Possible on an Empty Stomach?” by Adilei Brown

12th grader Adilei Brown from Jenks High School in Oklahoma won 2nd Prize in the High School Central division for her documentary, “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: Is that Possible on an Empty Stomach,” about food insecurity. As a 2nd Prize winner, Adilei collects $1,500 in prize money.

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. 2026 marked the 22nd year of the competition and in this semiquincentennial year celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we asked students in grades 6-12 to create a short (5:00-6:00 minute) video documentary on either a historical or contemporary topic that related to the competition theme, “America’s 250th Anniversary”
Exploring the American Story through the Declaration of Independence.

C-SPAN is funded by America’s cable, satellite television and streaming companies, who also support StudentCam. In Jenks, C-SPAN is available locally through Cox Communications.

Press:

• Press Release: Jenks Student Wins Prize in C-SPAN’s National Documentary Competition (Google Doc)
  
  
• Article: Jenks student Adilei Brown receives national recognition in C-SPAN documentary contest (TulsaPeople)
  
  
• Article: Jenks student places second in C-SPAN contest for documentary on food insecurity under Trump (KGOU)
  
  
• Article: Jenks High School Senior Adilei Brown Wins Second Place in C-SPAN StudentCam Documentary Competition (SSBCrack News)