Ian Jiang, Carolina Madeira, & Yaby Ketema from Palo Alto Senior High School in California won 3rd Prize in the High School Western Division of the 2026 C-SPAN StudentCam documentary competition for their video titled, “The Invisible War of America’s Veterans,” about veterans’ mental health awareness. As 3rd Prize winners, they will split $750 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 Palo Alto, C-SPAN is available locally through Comcast.
Press:
- Press Release: Palo Alto Students Win Prizes in C-SPAN’s National Documentary Competition (Google Doc)
StudentCam 2026 3rd Prize: "The Invisible War of America's Veterans"
Congratulatory Messages and Recognition
Written by studentcam
Recent Posts
- 2026 3rd Prize Middle School Division – “Endless Pursuit: Income Inequality vs. The Declaration of Independence” by Evan Hartman & Eli Wharton
- 2026 3rd Prize High School Western Division – “The Invisible War of America’s Veterans” by Ian Jiang, Carolina Madeira & Yaby Ketema
- 2026 3rd Prize High School Eastern Division – “The Pursuit of Sleep” by Andrew Allaire, Richard Frankowski, & Gavin Dolby
- 2026 3rd Prize High School Central Division – “The Cost of Independence: Family Farms” by Danica Pestorious, Michaela Hanson, & Brielle Bakken
- 2026 3rd Prize Middle School Division – “The Limits of Difference: From the Declaration of Independence to United States v. Virginia” by Celeste Stout