DePaul University Division of Mission and Ministry > Scholarships, Grants & Awards > Student Competitions

Student Competitions

The Vinny Prize

Calling all filmmakers, animators, and designers! The Division of Mission and Ministry is sponsoring a university-wide student and alumni competition for creative content that explores how career paths and academic pursuits can intersect with a deeper sense of purpose. Through strong visual storytelling, the goal is to inspire our student body, faculty and staff with the diversity of ways in which we can align our work with meaningful and impactful endeavors.

Submissions are now being accepted. Please fill out this form to submit your work.

  • Sustainable business
  • Ethical fashion
  • Student activism
  • Socially conscious storytelling
  • Service-oriented science
  • Community centered design
  • Social entrepreneurship

Ideal video content length is 2-5 minutes, not to exceed 7 minutes.

  • Documentary Shorts
  • Narrative Shorts
  • Whiteboards
  • Animations
  • Games
  • Vlogs
All media must be original content created for the Vinny Prize.
The winner will be announced at DePaul’s Premiere Film Festival in early June. 
The winner will receive: 
  • $3000 
  • Premiere Festival Award 
  • Final Post-Production Support (color & sound) 
  • Campus-wide Distribution

Submissions are now open. Fill out this form to submit your work. Submission deadline is Tuesday, April 30, 2019.

2018 Winners

2018 Vinny Prize winners expressed the Vincentian core values of community, purpose and social impact in their films.

1st Place Vinny Prize
Inside Out by Ella Lubienski
This film narrates the writings of incarcerated students from DePaul’s Inside Out “Think Tank” class on their life in a maximum-security prison. Through their words, we experience the social, mental, physical, and emotional impact of incarceration, and ponder its effectiveness.



2nd Place Vinny Prize
The Third Pillar of Islam: How a Mosque Transformed a Community through Kindness by Akram Shibly
Six years ago, a vacant Catholic church in a low-income Buffalo, New York neighborhood was purchased by a Muslim community and turned into a mosque. The location was specifically chosen in order to serve surrounding families facing poverty. This film provides an example of how Islam’s third pillar of charity has transformed the area both by decreasing crime and creating a warm and welcoming community center for families.



3rd Place Vinny Prize
Las Puertas del Paseo by Edwin R. Ruiz 
13 latino artists painted 16 doors in Humboldt Park to celebrate their culture, reflect on obstacles they’ve overcome, express the current political challenges, and encourage unity and integration of their mixed cultures.



Fashion Revolution | DePaul T-Shirt Design Contest

Flex your creativity and support ethical fashion by entering our campus-wide DePaul t-shirt design contest! The winning design will be produced by Alta Gracia, the only collegiate apparel company that pays a living wage.

Develop a design that speaks to DePaul’s core values including service, dignity, community, and social impact. A few slogans that could be used include:

  • Explore Your Purpose
  • Do Good. Do it Well.
  • What Must Be Done?
  • Love is Inventive to Infinity
  • Dignity for All

The winner will receive $500 and their design will be sold in DePaul bookstores. The winning design will be revealed on April 20th at the DePaul Fashion Revolution fashion show.

*This contest is sponsored by DePaul’s Office of Mission & Values. Fashion Revolution is not a sponsor nor has any official affiliation to the contest. Only DePaul logos will be used on the t-shirt.

Use the template provided to create a design proof for the front and back of your DePaul t-shirt. [Illustrator file ]

Color specs: 
The t-shirt can be any color except purple or orange.
DePaul logos may only be blue (PMS 285  & 293), red (PMS 186), black or white.

Other logo rules:
Create a t-shirt design within the stated theme.

The DePaul logo may not be incorporated into another design. It must stand alone on the t-shirt. You may indicate where the logo would go. DePaul’s licensing team will add the compliant logo to the winning design. Consult DePaul’s official branding guidelines website under the section “Logo Integrity” for a full list of rules.

Upload a PDF of your finished design proof here . Limited to three designs per student.

Questions? Contact Liliane Calfee at lcalfee@depaul.edu.