11th & 10th grade siblings Jonah & Benjamin Sandel from Palo Alto Senior High School in California won 2nd Prize in the High School Western division for their documentary, “Claiming our Consent: Reengaging the Youth Vote.” As 2nd Prize winners, they will split $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 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 2nd Prize: "Claiming our Consent: Reengaging the Youth Vote"
Congratulatory Messages and Recognition
Stanford Votes Co-Chairs Jacob Parker & Emmett Chung
UC Berkeley History Professor Dr. Jaime Sánchez, Jr.
Vote16 Palo Alto Co-Director Iris Blanchet
