37th Annual College Video Contest Winners 

NEW YORK, NY - May 8th, 2025 Today, The Christophers announce the winners of their 37th Annual Video Contest for College Students, in which entrants were asked to create a film or video that communicates the belief that one person can make a difference. This year’s contest drew entries from colleges all across the United States. As Sarah E. Holinski, The Christophers’ Youth Coordinator, observed, “Near and far, the video contest winners this past year demonstrate the continued importance of making a difference in action by highlighting some truly exceptional individuals, who, whether giving of their time and talents to others, or raising their voices in joyful song, serve as shining beacons of light in a world too often overshadowed by darkness.”

     First place winner Jake Gist, a Belmont University Media Production major, highlighted one such inspirational individual – former 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Linda Lyon – in his “SNAP (Student Power, World Inspired) News” report, broadcast from the Gene Burton College and Career Academy in Rockwall, Texas.

     Mrs. Lyon has “gone from a dedicated teacher to a school’s honored namesake,” Gist narrates as B-roll of Lyon’s teaching career plays across the screen. “Today, SNAP celebrates the career of Mrs. Linda Lyon, whose journey is a testament to 37 years of teaching excellence. After serving in Irving for 6 years, she moved and continued her teaching journey in Rockwall… Mrs. Lyon’s profound impact became evident very quickly to us here at SNAP, as a former student explains.”

     The screen then cuts to a video testimonial of this former pupil, Jon Bailey, who describes Mrs. Lyon as “somebody who…means the world to him” and “pours their heart and soul into not just education, but also…your…[life].”

     “Later, on December 19th, 2016, the recognition of her [Lyon’s] contributions soared,” Jake continues, “as the district honored Mrs. Lyon with the naming of the Rockwall ISD’s 14th elementary school, now known as Linda Lyon Elementary School.”

“I honestly love being there,” Mrs. Lyon exclaimed, while scenes from her frequent visits to her school are seamlessly interspersed throughout her interview. “It makes me happy every time... Every moment is a special moment…And it’s so exciting, because I get to be a part of the things going on at the school, and that…is a huge honor.”

     Jake Gist goes on to say that even though Mrs. Lyon has since retired as an educator, her desire to assist the local youth in her community remains as strong as ever, as evidenced by her work with “[Lone Star] CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates),” which was created to help “children that have suffered abuse or neglect.”

     “I think it’s an important organization,” Mrs. Lyon said, as statistics from the CASA nonprofit are shown onscreen. “They’ve served…over 203 kids this year in Rockwall and Kaufman counties…Their goal is to get them in a permanent situation. It’s another means to support kids, and I love it.”

     Our second-place winner is educator Mrs. Molly Giacchi, who is studying Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Canisius University in Buffalo, New York. In the description of her prize-winning video entitled “Change Someone’s World,” Molly writes that she is “a full-time graduate student, a full-time mom, a singer/songwriter, and a substitute teacher at Queen of Heaven School in West Seneca, NY.” Her favorite pastime, however, is music. The entire video consists of an original song written, composed and sung by Giacchi herself, aptly named “To Smile,” which was recorded during one of her fifth-grade class’s study hall periods. Accompanied by the bouncy notes of her ukelele, Molly’s heartwarming composition captures the heart and soul of The Christophers’ message with its simple but unforgettably poignant lyrics.

     “Making a difference in our heads,” Giacchi sings, as her students dance, smile and draw happy faces on the white board in the background, “while in the comfort of our beds…Heartbeats and shadows of the night may give a temporary fright…But we just open up our hearts and try.”

     “To smile, is still free, you know,” Molly’s song continues its cheerful refrain, occasionally punctuated by her pupils clapping along. “To laugh, costs only a breath to go. To dance, is underrated, yet over easy…You can change the world of someone else’s world; you can stop their war today. Why not take it one world at a time?”

     Mrs. Giacchi’s video ends with all her students gathered in front of the classroom, loudly proclaiming the uplifting reminder: “You can change the world!”

     Third prize winner Aditi Srivatsan is an undecided major at Houston Community College. Her video utilizes the concept of human beings as living “mosaics” in order to convey just how much one person can influence the life of another.

“I went on my first solo trip ever when I was 16,” Aditi recalled in her award-winning video. “I went to Singapore…When a stranger told me to check out the mosaic, the Kampong Galem, little did I know, the way I saw that mosaic, would shape the way I saw myself in the future.”

     “I believe we as humans are mosaics,” Srivatsan noted in a voiceover as images and video footage of various scenes from her life form an animated collage, “mosaics of every interaction we’ve ever had, and the people we’ve met. And I’m honored to have a place in the mosaics of all the people I know.”

     The film then segues into three separate testimonials with Clement High students of various ages, all of whom speak to Aditi’s dedication and compassion as a leader/mentor, whether she was serving as their debate team partner, or participating with them in model UN (United Nations).

     “My first competition was actually a win with her,” Clement High junior Vansh Parikh remembered, “She [Aditi] taught me everything I knew …She had so much patience…and she didn’t make me feel like I was a burden…[She] is one of the sweetest people I know.”

“I’ve always tried to find a place in people’s lives,” Srivatsan affirmed, “to help them. And when my friend Neha Govindarajan and I one day realized the staggering reality of millions of books going to waste in our hometown Chennai in India, while multiple people lacked access to basic education, we set forth to make Blue Lilac.”

     Photographs and video clips of the grateful youngsters Aditi and her friend have worked with overseas through Blue Lilac are then presented across the screen, along with typed statistics that reveal to date, “4,000 books [have been] donated, 6 libraries set up, [as well as] literacy programs for 200 + students [in Chennai].”

     Aditi concluded, “Blue Lilac taught me that I as a person have the capability of making change…Art, music, food, culture, friendship, philanthropy...These are only a few of the ways that people can leave imprints on the mosaics of others for life…And every action, even if it doesn’t change the entire world, can change the world of one person.”

     For 80 years, we at The Christophers have sought to spread Father James Keller’s message that even one kind word or gesture has the power to change someone’s life for the better. This year and every year, we are especially proud to recognize so many noteworthy individuals, who have made a difference in the lives of others—one action, one word, one shining candle at a time.