C-SPAN paid Lake Charles a visit for the second year in a row, this time to honor local College Street Vocational Center student Jacob Jewell.

Last year C-SPAN was in Lake Charles to honor three College Street Vocational Center students.

This year’s event took place during the CPSB-TV (Calcasieu Parish School Board) Production Awards ceremony held Tuesday, May 2, where the school’s Television Production students were recognized for their achievements throughout the year.

Earlier in the school year, Jewell submitted the six-minute documentary “The Forgotten Coast” to the C-SPAN StudentCam — an annual documentary competition for middle and high school students in the United States.

This year’s prompt: “If you were a newly elected member of Congress, which issues would be your first priority and why?”

“For the first time in the history of the competition, we asked students to envision themselves in a position of power, as newly elected members of Congress,” said Craig McAndrew, director of C-SPAN Education Relations. “As each participant considered which issue would be their first priority and why, they creatively wove detailed research with expert interviews and proposed actions to address their concerns.”

Jewell said he chose to focus on the importance of levees and protecting the state’s coast.

“After Hurricane Laura and Delta struck the region, there wasn’t a lot of attention for us in Lake Charles, let alone in Cameron Parish,” he said. “I wanted to help give them a voice, and voice some of the issues that they’re facing.”

His documentary is being used in the real world, said Michael Shaffer, Optimum regional vice president. “Often academia doesn’t make its place into the real world. From what I understand, this is being used in this environment on a daily basis,” he said. “That is more powerful than anything I’ve heard here today.”

Along with certificates of recognition from C-SPAN and the City of Lake Charles, Jewell received a cash prize of $1,500. He said he plans to buy camera equipment with the prize money.

Jewell said he intends to use this momentum to further his career. He said at the honoring that after he graduates this month, he plans on attending Sowela Technical Community College for digital media before attending Mississippi State University for a four-year degree in meteorology.