Q: What motivated you to start participating in the C-SPAN StudentCam competitions?
A: I was motivated to participate after seeing success from the previous competitions I had done. I found StudentCam one day and felt that I could see myself making a documentary and a difference in the world.
Q: Why did you choose the topic that you did?
A: choose the topic of Sudan because I felt that Sudan is often an overlooked country/situation for many reasons (many I cover in the documentary) and many people aren’t aware of the suffering and humanitarian crisis being faced currently in Sudan. [Raising] awareness of the country and the ongoing war was not only fulfilling the documentary prompt, but also made me satisfied that I could learn more and make a difference.
Q: How long did it take you to complete the video?
A: The video took four months to make (September 2024 to January 2025) but I had been conceiving it since June 2024.
Q: What was the hardest part of making the video?
A: The hardest part of making the video was trying to find interviews. I had a lot of people I wanted to interview but many never got back to me or rejected my invitation. It was tough working with interviews since it’s not really something you can control and they significantly drive the flow of the video, but I was able to adapt and work well with them.
Q: What advice would you give to students trying to participate in future C-SPAN StudentCam competitions?
A: I would tell people that their first draft will never come out the way they want to, and that’s fine because you learn from those mistakes and make your video become more attune to your vision over time.
Q: What do you plan to do in the future? (Are you looking forward to joining next year’s competition?)
A: I actually have no plans to enter StudentCam in the future, I felt that I should give that opportunity to others and I felt that doing this once was fine and all I needed.
Q: What is one goal you have for your senior year?
A: One of my goals for senior year is to keep refining my skills to further my career opportunities for the future and told not hold back and participating in new activities.
