Florida Students Excel at National History Day

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –

Secretary of State Ken Detzner is pleased to announce that Florida students excelled at the National History Day (NHD) competition in College Park, Maryland, winning eight national awards and recognitions. On June 10–14, 58 students and 21 teachers represented the Sunshine State by attending the national competition at the University of Maryland.

“At the Florida History Day state contest this past May, I was thrilled to meet these young historians, who spent months conducting research and developing their entries,” said Secretary of State Ken Detzner. “I’m delighted that their hard work, creativity and dedication has been recognized at the national contest.”

The students’ entries previously won first or second place in May at the Florida History Day state contest, sponsored by the Museum of Florida History. The middle- and high-school students presented their findings in a documentary, historical paper, performance, exhibit, or website related to the 2017–18 theme “Conflict and Compromise in History.” More than 60,000 students participated statewide, making Florida one of the largest programs among the 57 National History Day affiliates. 

The national contest drew more than 3,000 students from the 50 states, District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and international schools in Southeast Asia. This year Florida received several top honors.

Listed below are Florida’s national-level winners by county:

Bay County

Outstanding Affiliate Award—Junior Division

Ruby Tilghman—Junior Individual Performance

Sugar Fight and Everything Nice: Women in World War II on the Homefront and Beyond North Bay Haven Charter Academy Middle School; Teacher: Cheryl Duncan

Broward County

Second Place: Junior Group Documentary

Jack Lohse and Mack Alfele

South Florida: The Staging Ground for a Nuclear Showdown

School Beachside Montessori Village; Teacher: Nancy Roman

 

Second Place: Senior Individual Website

Jiayong “Celia” Lu

A Little Ball Moved the Big Ball

American Heritage/Plantation; Teachers: Leslie Porges, Kimberly Hughes

Escambia County

First Place: Senior Individual Performance

Max Mateer

Pushing the Pawn from the Purchase to the Pacific

Pensacola High School; Teacher: Michael Jones 

 

National History Academy scholarship

Max Mateer was awarded a National History Academy scholarship.  The National History Academy is a residential camp in Virginia for high-school students with a passion for learning more about the foundations of American Democracy.

 

Hillsborough County

 

Second Place: Senior Individual Exhibit

Sarah Robison

This Is My War Too!

Homeschool; Teacher: Deborah Robison

 

Outstanding Affiliate Award—Senior Division

Sarah Schoellhorn—Senior Individual Exhibit

Margaret Sanger: Choosing a Life of Conflict to Gain Women's Reproductive Rights

Carrollwood Day School; Teacher: Sabrina McCartney

 

Sarasota County

Second Place: Senior Group Exhibit

Gopi Patel and Shivni Patel

Commerciogenic Malnutrition: Conflict and Compromise in the Infant Formula Controversy in the 1970s

School Pine View School; Teacher Carol Lavallee

 

Listed below are the students whose entry is among the top ten projects in their division and category.

 

Broward County

Sixth Place: Junior Group Exhibit

Hana Starkman and Nicole Gorbatov

Fields of Despair

American Heritage/Plantation

Teacher: Leslie Porges

Lake County

Ninth Place: Senior Group Performance

Carlie Sullivan, Faith Eaton, MacLaine Thompson, and Schuyler Thompson

Woman Uprising: Rose Schneiderman

Real Life Christian Academy; Teachers: Mark Dineen and Steve Lebron

Pasco County

Tenth Place: Senior Group Documentary

Emma Barrett, Endora Ankrah, and Maya Eason

The Berlin Conference

Land O' Lakes High School; Teacher: Jennifer O'Connor-Podraza

 

Seminole County

 

Ninth Place: Junior Group Documentary

Ashali Sharma and Ritisha Suresh

The Peace of Westphalia: A Compromise That Shaped Our Modern World

Sanford Middle School; Teacher: Mike Travis

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About Florida History Day

Florida History Day is an affiliate of National History Day (NHD). NHD was established in 1974 to promote history in the classroom by offering students the means and encouragement to research people, ideas, and events of the past. The 2017–18 theme is "Conflict and Compromise in History.” After analyzing and interpreting the information they have gathered, students express their findings in a paper, exhibit, performance, documentary, or website. More than 60,000 students participated in the 2017–18 Florida History Day. For more information visit: floridahistoryday.com.