Of the five winning Alberta students who took part in the VacciNATION campaign, MacEwan University Public Relations student Scott Biggs walked away with the top prize.

Sponsored by MacEwan, Concordia University of Edmonton, NorQuest College and the University of Lethbridge, the VacciNATION campaign asked students on social media to help promote confidence in COVID-19 vaccines and encourage post-secondary students to get the shot to protect themselves and the people around them.

Biggs, a second-year student, took part in the contest through one of his courses and applied the video skills and design tools he learned during his past time in the Arts and Cultural Management program. He credits his brother's fiance Chelsey, a critical care nurse, as the real MVP of the project.

"I learned that people appreciate it when the microphone is in the right hands," says Biggs. "You can cut through the haze of social media obscuring our perspectives by amplifying the right voices."

A panel of student judges reviewed the entries and awarded cash prizes to the winners, who also included MacEwan Public Relations student Taylor Filipchuk.

Biggs's winning video earned the top monetary prize of $1,000, and he intends to share some of his good fortune with Nurse Chelsey and her ICU colleagues by raffling off gift cards to local businesses. Some of those same businesses will also be featured in Bigg's future plans for a TikTok content series (@biggsify), tying in his passion to help others who have struggled through COVID-19.

"As far as the long term, I'm keeping my options open," continues Biggs. "I'm looking forward to marrying my advocacies with my writing and communication skills to grow a career where I'm making a real difference — not just earning a paycheque."

To be considered for a future Student Snapshots story, or to suggest someone we should feature, please contact our communications team (communications@macewan.ca).