From the Nominator

Generating scholarship support through private philanthropy is a major focus of UVA’s campaign, Honor the Future, the largest fundraising campaign in university history,  with a goal of $5 billion. To achieve this goal, which will transform students’ lives and experiences, we created this video, along with subsequent student vignette videos, to tell their stories.

“Honor the Future” is a decree that exists for the present just as much as it does for the future. It asks our alumni to pause and reflect on how they achieved their own educational and career goals, how they got to where they are, and what steps they will take to make an impact on what will come. Through the point of view of six scholarship students, we tell this story, and encourage those watching that, to truly honor the future, one must acknowledge the actions taken now. This video demonstrates how the power of philanthropy and personal commitments drive our students to succeed.

From the Judges

The University of Virginia's “What Drives US: Scholarships Anthem Video” is exactly what an anthem video should be. The cinematography, editing, and music were professionally executed, and truly let the shared student stories shine. While student spotlights aren't a truly original tactic, the students interviewing students was a novel take, and the black-and-white interview footage interspersed with the full color B-roll proved very effective. It is easy to see how subsequent pieces could be created to highlight the individual students and the programs they represent. Overall, the video was polished, effective, had a clear call to action and, perhaps most important, left us wanting to see more in this campaign!