Award: Silver

Institution: Indiana University

Title of Entry: Congratulations, Class of 2020! | IU 2020 Series

About this Entry: In order to capture the essence of the undergraduate experience at Indiana University Bloomington and the divergent paths students take to achieving personal and academic success, we documented the lives of 12 students over four years for the IU 2020 film series. This series was produced in conjunction with IU’s 2020 Bicentennial commemoration and in support of the top priority of IU Bloomington’s Bicentennial Strategic Plan: A commitment to student success. Selected students came from predominantly under-represented backgrounds and widely divergent areas of study. This single video submission (5 minutes, 49 seconds) summarizes the project by demonstrating the energy, joy, challenges, and wide variety of learning opportunities that comprise the IUB student experience. It also includes the spring COVID-19-pivot to online education faced by members of the Class of 2020 worldwide. Featured students studied everything from musical theater to Intelligent Systems Engineering, both shown in this clip. Their campus involvement included participation in the IU’s world-renowned Little 500 bicycle race, Divine Nine Greek Life, Holi Day, the Homecoming Parade, the Jacobs Guitar Academy, and LGBTQ+ life, among many others. The project was recorded and edited by a rotating group of IU student interns whose peer relationships with the documentary’s subjects helped garner open and honest answers about the ups and downs of college life. Collectively, over the course of the project, we hired 19 student interns, prioritizing diversity and inclusion. These students gained real-world filmmaking experience to carry forward into future careers.