One Nelson student recently learned that doing your homework can pay off in more than just good grades.
Chipman Purdey, an economics student at Selkirk College, was awarded first place in a video contest through the Fraser Institute and took home $2,500 in prize money.
“I was pretty ecstatic when I found out I won,” said Purdey. “I wasn’t expecting it at all.”
Purdey said the video was an assignment from his economics teacher.
“The primary function of the video I made was to fulfill the course requirements of the economics class I was taking, the secondary function was to enter it into the Fraser Institute video contest and luckily enough I guess it worked out for both,” he said.
Purdey’s video No Price Gouging for Katrina was chosen above 50 other video submissions from 83 post-secondary and high school students from across Canada and the US.
“The contest was pretty specific,” said Purdey. “It had to be about economics and politics and how they relate together in disaster economics.”
The Selkirk College student’s video was about Hurricane Katrina.
“It wasn’t too planned,” admitted Purdey. “I basically combined a few images that I’d already had with me, I did some filming on the back streets of Baker Street with my sister. I wasn’t expecting to win anything so I was really surprised when I did.”
Purdey said the video also got him a high mark from his teacher and that it sparked quite a bit of economic debate among his friends.
The Nelson student will head to Kamloops to complete his Bachelor of Arts in economics and politics, which is what he’ll put his prize money towards.
“I’m interested in how the world runs itself and how governments are involved with that. In the last couple years it’s been a big part of my life, so I just want to continue learning about it,” he said.
Purdey’s winning video No Price Gouging for Katrina can be viewed on YouTube.