Alyse Gray Parker Memorial Student Video Challenge

Every year, The Science Coalition (TSC) proudly hosts the Alyse Gray Parker Memorial Student Video Challenge!

The contest celebrates Alyse’s passion for students and for science, as well as her belief in the power of young voices to inspire change.

The challenge is open to undergraduate and graduate students at TSC member institutions across the country, offering an opportunity for the next generation of scientists and researchers to showcase their creativity, passion, and interests via 60-90 second videos that highlight how scientific research benefits the country and the American people. The experiences that students share can help shape public understanding and encourage elected officials in Congress to maintain our nation’s longstanding and bipartisan commitment to robust and sustained university research.

Prize Money

The competition’s undergraduate winner will receive $2,500.
The competition’s graduate winner will receive $2,500.
A third winner – the People’s Choice Award; either a graduate or undergraduate student who receives the most votes – will receive $500.

Submit Your Video

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How to Enter

The Challenge:

Create a 60 – 90 second video about why science and scientific research matters.

Your Video Should Include:

Who you are, and the TSC institution/university at which you study.
An example of interesting research and how it benefits – or could benefit – the country, individuals, and/or the world. (The example can come from your own research or that of others.)
Explain why continued federal support for basic scientific research is critical to our nation’s economy, global competitiveness, scientific and technological leadership, and/or health outcomes.

Technical Requirements:

Videos can be recorded on your phone or with other digital video equipment – and edited with freely available software. Tips for making videos can be found here and here.

Videos must be between 60 and 90 seconds in length.
Group submissions must have one designated team leader for communication.
Videos received outside the submission window will not be eligible.

Timeline:

The challenge opens on October 1, 2025 for submissions.
The challenge closes on November 14, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. No submissions will be considered after this date.

Please note: By submitting your entry, you grant TSC rights to use your video for promotional purposes. Winning and featured videos may be highlighted on TSC’s website, social media, and other outreach materials.

Submit Your Video

Past Winners

For inspiration, check out past winners to see how students used their voices.

2024 Winners

Graduate

1ST PLACE – DEVA HOLLIMAN, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA – DAVIS

2ND PLACE – MARIAM AYAD, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA – CRUZ

3RD PLACE – MINMIN (JESSIE) SUN, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA – DAVIS

Undergraduate

1ST PLACE – NATHAN COLE AND KADEN STONE, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA – DAVIS

2ND PLACE – LIZA TSYVINSKY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA – SANTA CRUZ

3RD PLACE – JULIAN RIVERA, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA – SANTA CRUZ

People's Choice

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD – ANGELIQUE ALLEN, UNIVERSITY OF OREGON

View Archive

Past Winners Archive

Graduate

1st Place – Mohamed Chakkour and team, Wayne State University (2023)

2nd Place – Vivian Li, Penn State University (2023)

3rd Place – Claire Radtke, Marquette University (2023)

Mea O. Songco-Casey, University of Oregon (2022)

1st Place – Molly McIlquham, Washington State University (2021)

2nd Place – Maria Isabel da Silva, Penn State University (2021)

3rd Place – Adam Knier, Marquette University (2021)

1st Place – Amanpreet Bhogal, Aneesh Hehr, and Team, Wayne State University (2020)

2nd Place – Julia Mouat, UC Davis (2020)

3rd Place – Eliza Oldach, UC Davis (2020)

1st Place – Sumit Kar, University of Nebraska Medical Center (2019)

2nd Place – Max Levy, University of Colorado Boulder (2019)

3rd Place and People’s Choice Award Winner – Bryan Keller, Florida State University (2019)

Undergraduate

1st Place – Sirena Pearl, Virginia Commonwealth University (2023)

2nd Place – Jacob Klein, Wayne State University (2023)

3rd Place – Jay Elias, Wayne State University (2023)

1st Place – Laura Kapolka, University of Michigan (2021)

2nd Place – Alonso Cruz, University of Oregon (2021)

3rd Place – Logan Coomes and team, Penn State University (2021)

1st Place – Shreya Desai, Wayne State University (2020)

2nd Place – Madeline Rose Frey, UC Davis (2020)

3rd Place – Cassidy Prince, Penn State University (2020)

1st Place – Lillie Xi Max Williams, Washington State University (2019)

2nd Place – Alissa Wuorinen, Marquette University (2019)

Judging Criteria

Participants will be evaluated based on their messaging and communication, creativity, and video and editing quality. Below is a sample rubric judges will use to evaluate each submission.

Judges

Judges will consist of students, university government relations professionals, and university communications professionals.

View Rubric

Frequently Asked Questions

+- Do I have to be a science or engineering major to participate?

A: No. Students from all majors and disciplines who are enrolled at a TSC member institution are welcome to participate. If you yourself are not doing research to share in the video, you can tell a story about research that was conducted in the past and had an impact on the world or, you can pair up with another student(s) who is doing research and tell their story.

+- Who is the audience for the videos?

A: Members of Congress and the public are the primary audience. We will share the winning videos with members of Congress and their staffs. Tell them a story about why research is important for our future.

+- Our student team has both undergraduate and graduate students. Should I check “Undergraduate student(s)” or “Graduate student(s)” on the submission form?

A: If you are a team comprised of both undergraduate and graduate students, please select “Graduate Student(s).”

Submit Your Video

Questions can be sent to tsc@sciencecoalition.org