Metro-Detroit students win prizes in national C-SPAN competition
Troy Athens student Erynna Holbrook was a grand prize winner.
As the nation commemorates its historic 250th anniversary, C-SPAN announced this week that students in Troy, Bloomfield Township, Ann Arbor and Royal Oak have earned national recognition as 2026 winners in C-SPAN’s annual StudentCam documentary competition.
Erynna Holbrook, a student at Troy Athens High School in Troy, is the grand-prize winner and will receive $5,000 for the documentary, “The Pursuit of Fair Pay,” about the impact of name, image and likeness (NIL) on college sports. This documentary will air on C-SPAN’s networks on April 21 throughout the day.
C-SPAN also recognizes Adam Burns, who served as an adviser and mentor throughout the StudentCam competition, helping guide this nationally recognized achievement.
Zara Kanjwal and Sarah Zhang, students at International Academy Central in Bloomfield Township, are second-prize winners and will receive $1,500 for the documentary, “Built Unequal: Black Women, Birth, and America.” This documentary will air on C-SPAN’s networks on April 8 throughout the day.
Skyline student honored
Taylor Phillips, a student at Skyline High School in Ann Arbor, is an honorable mention prize winner and will receive $250 for the documentary, “Unalienable Rights and the Tulsa Race Massacre.”
C-SPAN also recognizes Cate McCraw who served as an adviser and mentor throughout the StudentCam competition, helping guide this nationally recognized achievement.
Javien Johnson, a student at Royal Oak High School in Royal Oak, is an honorable mention prize winner and will receive $250 for the documentary, “All Men Are Created Equal? An Ongoing Conversation,” about African American civil rights and equality.
C-SPAN also recognizes Mike Conrad who served as an adviser and mentor throughout the StudentCam competition, helping guide this nationally recognized achievement.
Challenging power of Declaration of Independence
In recognition of the United States’ Semiquincentennial, C-SPAN — in cooperation with its cable and satellite television partners — challenged middle and high school students across the country to examine the enduring power and relevance of the Declaration of Independence by exploring:
(1) its influence on a key moment from America’s 250-year history; or (2) how the values stated in the foundational document touch on a contemporary issue impacting them or their communities.
Through this project-based learning experience, students engaged in in-depth research, critical analysis, and original storytelling to explore matters of both personal and national importance.
The response was extraordinary: C-SPAN received more than 1,800 documentary submissions from nearly 4,000 students representing 38 states and Washington, D.C., underscoring the competition’s broad national reach and civic impact.
In Troy, Bloomfield Township, Ann Arbor and Royal Oak, C-SPAN is available through Comcast, our local partner in StudentCam.
