Way to go! Brittany Schreiber, Smithtown

Brittany Schreiber, a junior at Smithtown High School East, was one of two grand-prize winners in a recent field reporting contest coordinated by SchoolJam USA, a national teen battle of the bands program that allows teen musicians to showcase their talents.

The contest required teens to e-mail a video interview done with a local band. Schreiber chose the rock trio Fusion, whose band members are her classmates at Smithtown East.

For winning, she is invited to attend the SchoolJam battle of the bands contest next weekend in Anaheim, Calif., where she will report on the 10 final acts for the website.

"I found out about the contest while looking online for scholarships," said Schreiber, 16, who takes a journalism class at Smithtown East and is on the school newspaper. "I told them about it, and our teacher. Mrs. [Christine] Gardella. said that we could do it for extra credit."

Schreiber filmed the interview using a Flip camera and asked the band questions ranging from their musical influences to their views on music programs being cut from schools. She said she approached the interview from the audience's viewpoint and asked questions that would interest listeners.