Lucia Berkovic, a senior at Anderson W. Clark Magnet High School in California, has been named the 2025 Student Television Network Student of the Year, an honor recognizing not only her extraordinary talent in filmmaking, but her leadership, professionalism, and lasting impact on her school community.

A four-year student in Clark Magnet’s Cinematography pathway, Lucia’s award-winning filmography reflects her commitment to excellence and her willingness to take creative risks. She directed Final Score, her school’s most successful capstone to date, and co-directed Kung Fu Bugman, which earned national recognition for visual effects. She is also the creative force behind Starstruck, an ambitious, independently produced short film that blends sci-fi and identity with emotional depth, and Passenger Prince, an atmospheric capstone project that tested her skills as a director and leader under extreme production conditions. Her film Flashback! earned awards at both the Pacifica SCREEN Student Film Festival and STN Spring Nationals for its writing and comedic storytelling. And her most recent film, Doggone Treats, won Best Comedy Short in this year’s STN Nationals.. A four-time STN Convention attendee, Lucia has earned top honors in Silent Film, Comedy, Documentary, and Movie Trailer categories, and won Gold at the regional and state levels in Digital Cinema Production through SkillsUSA.

What makes Lucia’s achievements even more impressive is that many of her most ambitious projects were self-initiated, produced outside the classroom, and led with a level of vision and maturity that rivals working professionals. Her passion for filmmaking is relentless, and her sets are known not only for their high standards but for their inclusivity, creativity, and spirit of collaboration. In the words of her mentor, Lucia is “not only a student of film — she is already a filmmaker.”

In the fall, Lucia will attend California State University Northridge to study Film Production with the goal of becoming a writer, director, and editor.