As the nation commemorates its historic 250th anniversary, Lucy Kate Bridges, Caroline Connor and Poppy Smith, students at Alice B. Landrum Middle School in Ponte Vedra Beach, have earned national recognition as 2026 honorable mention prize winners in C-SPAN’s annual StudentCam documentary competition. The group will receive $250 for the documentary, “Axe Handle Saturday,” about civil rights protests in Jacksonville.
C-SPAN also recognizes Sandra Pagliughi who served as an adviser and mentor throughout the StudentCam competition, helping guide this nationally recognized achievement.
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 either:
· its influence on a key moment from America’s 250-year history, or
· 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.
