Roanoke students win top prize in international analysis, video competition

Two Roanoke College students, in collaboration with peers overseas, were awarded top honors in an international competition that challenged students to think deeply about the state of global affairs spanning two continents. 

The ASIANetwork Student Video Challenge asked competitors to produce original, in-depth analysis of the relationship between Asian countries and the United States. The 2023 theme, “Asia & the United States in the Next Decade,” went a step further to require them to comment not just on current events but on what those events could next lead to for the international community. Entries had to be distilled into five-minute, multimedia video presentations. 

First place was awarded to a piece from Cameron McDonald ’24 and Jakob Strohl ’24 of Roanoke College, So Hee Kim of Seoul-based Yonsei University and Sujeong Lee of Seoul-based Ewha Women's University. 

Their entry, “The Decade’s Worst-Case Scenario,” was described by judges as “compelling and sobering.” It envisioned the chaos that could erupt if Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine exacerbated tensions in U.S.-China relations to a crisis point. Global power struggles, miscommunications and perceived obligations could unleash a domino effect that ends in all-out world war if diplomacy and peacemaking aren't heeded, it warned.   

“Within a hypothetical scenario containing horrendous actions for the world at-large occurring simultaneously, this project aims to demonstrate the hazards of catastrophic failure to communicate on the international level,” read the team’s synopsis. 

Strohl and McDonald, both international relations majors, were interested in exploring the complex ties that shape global conflicts.  

“We bounced ideas off each other and talked about what we knew from our classes,” Strohl said. “We recognized immediately that the crises going on in the world are interconnected. There are very few that are independent of one another. Things happening in one region affect other regions.”

The award-winning video project (screenshots above) was framed as alternating U.S. and Chinese newscasts with the image of a burning candle symbolizing the intensifying crisis that could unfold. Judges praised the work for its clear and creative messaging.

The project offered an opportunity for students to better understand how the theory studied in the classroom could unfold in actual events on the world stage. It also opened conversations between the Roanoke representatives and students in Asia, which Strohl said was an amazing experience. Collaboration among international students was a requirement of the contest, and one of its unique facets. 

Professor Stella Xu, coordinator of Roanoke’s East Asian studies concentration and faculty advisor for the video project, said she was proud to see McDonald and Strohl’s work honored. 

“Cameron and Jakob are very motivated students and always work toward the level of above and beyond,” said Xu, Roanoke’s John R. Turbyfill Professor of History. “I am so happy to see them being recognized with this award. They have been pursuing and making the best of all the resources and opportunities that Roanoke College offers its students.” 

The ASIANetwork Student Video Challenge is just one example of McDonald and Strohl’s above-and-beyond commitment to researching international problem-solving and bridge-building, Xu added. In May, the two will be part of a student research expedition to South Korea under a program also sponsored by an ASIANetwork grant. 

RELATED: South Korea research grant means once-in-a-lifetime trip for Roanoke College student team 

“This is all evidence that Roanoke College students are nationally competitive,” Xu said. “We encourage every student here to be ambitious and confident in aiming high.” 

Strohl credited the mentoring of Xu and other professors with helping him tap into such a wide array of national and international opportunities. 

“It's been mindboggling,” he said. “I honestly don’t think I would have gotten as many opportunities if I didn’t go to Roanoke. The fact that we’re a small campus and people are so close means my professors have really gotten to know me and have developed connections with me. They’ve helped open doors for me.”  

The ASIANetwork Student Video Challenge awards were announced at a conference this month. In addition to the national recognition, the top honor carried a small cash prize for the students. The competition was open to students at more than 150 North American colleges that are members of the nonprofit group and are partners in its work to strengthen Asian Studies programs and prepare students for careers in a global society.