Documentary by Spain Park High students honored by C-Span as winner in video contest

A documentary by two Spain Park High School students urging public support of funding fine arts programs has led them to be among only 150 winners selected nationwide from among 2,300 videos submitted in the C-Span Student Cam contest.

Elizabeth Sturgeon and Emily Spradling, both seniors, were publicly honored at Spain Park High on April 28 by a C-Span representative for their documentary, Funding for the Fine Arts: The Why and the How. Their project was among 130 Honorable Mention videos selected, winning a certificate and a cash prize of $250, said Sarah Zou, a marketing representative for C-Span, the Washington, D.C.-based cable network that airs federal government programs.

There were 20 other first, second and third-prize winning videos in various categories plus a grand-prize winner of $5,000. Zou said of the 130 honorable mention winners, three were from Alabama, including two videos made by students at Fort Payne High School.

The Student Cam Contest is designed to encourage students to submit a 5-7 minute video using C-Span footage along with interviews of local people in their communities highlighting issues important to them and how government involvement can make a difference, Zou said.

Sturgeon and Spradling said they chose fine arts as their topic out of concern about funding cutbacks of arts programs in public schools. Sturgeon is involved in the Spain Park High School choir, while Spradling has a passion for the visual arts.

“It was great to see our video put together in a way that brings out a positive message about the importance of the arts,” Spradling said.

Added Sturgeon, “I am hoping that this video will get government leaders and the public to support the arts.”

Sturgeon and Spradling have both won scholarships to Samford University, where they will be college roommates beginning this fall.

View the winning documentary here: youtu.be/fjl0dtGWYvM

 For more information about the C-Span Student Cam Contest, go to studentcam.org.