2025 Grand Prize – “Teens, Social Media & the Fentanyl Overdose Crisis” by Dermott Foley

Five-time StudentCam prize-winner, 10th grader Dermott Foley from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, MD won Grand Prize for his documentary, “Teens, Social Media & the Fentanyl Overdose Crisis.” Dermott is the first student in StudentCam history to have won the Grand Prize twice, first as a 7th grader and again as a 10th grader. As this year’s Grand Prize winner, Dermott will receive $5,000 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. 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 Silver Spring, C-SPAN is available locally through Comcast.

Press:

• Press Release: Washington D.C. Area Students Win Prizes in C-SPAN’s National Video Documentary Competition (Google Doc)
• Article: Montgomery County Students Among Winners in C-SPAN’s 2025 StudentCam Competition (The MoCo Show)
• Article: Montgomery County high school student wins competition with a film about teens and the fentanyl overdose crisis (WAMU)