Kimber Koteskey and Trinity Nicholson from Foothills Community Christian School have achieved third place in the High School Western Division of the C-SPAN 2025 StudentCam Documentary Competition. Their documentary, which explores the mental health challenges faced by inmates at the Cascade County Detention Center, was selected from nearly 3,500 entries submitted nationwide.

C-SPAN’s annual StudentCam competition invites middle and high school students to investigate significant community issues. This year’s theme, “Your Message to the President: What issue is most important to you or your community?” inspired Kimber and Trinity to focus specifically on the mental health challenges within detention facilities.

Over the past seven years, the video production class at Foothills has garnered 17 national awards and approximately $20,000 in prize money and scholarships. Each project typically necessitates a commitment of roughly four months, involving the composition of monologues, conducting interviews with local and state officials, and engaging with professionals in relevant fields.

“Kimber and Trinity are five-year video production students at Foothills and are a true example of the rewards of hard work,” explained Dustin Bauer. “They have spent countless hours on their films over the years and absolutely deserve this recognition. They chose to tackle the important issue of mental health because they understand it’s a growing problem in society and want to raise awareness.”

The Cascade County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged Kimber and Trinity for their dedication to illuminating mental health challenges within the local detention system. “I’m proud of Kimber and Trinity’s hard work on this important issue,” stated Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter. “We are lucky to have them in our community. Congratulations to you both and Foothills Christian School.”

In addition to their recent accomplishments, students from Foothills have secured five 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Civics Video Awards and have submitted additional entries for this contest, with winners to be announced in May. Last year, Trinity Nicholson won this contest in the state of Montana and achieved third place overall in the 9th Circuit, which encompasses all Western states and districts within the 9th district courts.

“We have had a great run at these contests over the last seven years because our kids are very passionate about expressing their beliefs and concerns through broadcast journalism,” concluded Dustin Bauer. “I truly believe as their teacher, that it is so important for young people to be a part of their community and government and to teach them that they have a voice.”