Maryland Students Earn National History Day Recognition
61 Students Compete; 7 Win National Awards
(College Park) – Nearly 3,000 students representing schools from throughout the United States, surrounding territories, and countries around the world gathered at the University of Maryland, College Park from June 11–15 to compete in the 2017 National History Day Competition. Maryland Humanities, the coordinator of History Day in Maryland, is pleased to announce that at the culminating awards ceremony on June 15 seven Maryland History Day students received top awards. Sixty-one exceptional students from Maryland participated in the competition.
Abigail Setzfand of Northern Middle School, Calvert County was awarded a silver medal in the Junior Individual Website category for her project Lewis Hine: Focusing the Lens on Child Labor. Bronwyn Patterson of Annapolis Middle School, Anne Arundel County was awarded a bronze medal in the Junior Paper category for her project Trees Not Tyranny: The Stand of Wangari Maathai. Jake Blum of Howard High School, Howard County was awarded a bronze medal in the Senior Individual Documentary category for his project Beyond the Shadow of Agent Orange: Veterans Stand for Justice.
Na Hye Kim of Poolesville High School, Montgomery County was awarded a scholarship to the University of Maryland, College Park for her senior group exhibit Alfred Wegener and His Stand for Continental Drift. Nicole Bachman, Sonia Goyal, and Sydney Shin of Lime Kiln Middle School, Howard County were awarded the Equality in History special prize for their junior group documentary Justin Whitlock Dart, Jr.: The Father of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The full list of Maryland student honorees is below.
“We’re thrilled to see the outstanding history scholarship represented by these seven national awards—the most Maryland has ever received. We’re so proud of all of our competitors—each of the 27,000 students who participated in Maryland History Day this year spent an enormous amount of time and energy on his or her impressive historical research projects. Most importantly, all of these student scholars gained valuable skills through this experience—these skills, like critical thinking, writing, and public speaking, will serve them well throughout life,” said Phoebe Stein, executive director of Maryland Humanities.
The National History Day program allows students to explore an annual theme through research using primary and secondary sources, and to create a final product to display their work. The 2017 competition encouraged students to contemplate “Taking a Stand in History” and select a project in one of the following five categories: exhibit, performance, website, paper, or documentary. Maryland students competed in school and county competitions as well as the statewide contest Maryland History Day, which is coordinated by Maryland Humanities, before advancing to the national competition in College Park.
2017 NATIONAL HISTORY DAY HONOREES FROM MARYLAND
SILVER MEDALIST, SECOND PLACE
Student: Abigail Setzfand
Category: Junior Individual Website
Topic: Lewis Hine: Focusing the Lens on Child Labor
School: Northern Middle School
County: Calvert County
Teacher: Devin Page
BRONZE MEDALIST, THIRD PLACE
Student: Bronwyn Patterson
Category: Junior Paper
Topic: Trees Not Tyranny: The Stand of Wangari Maathai
School: Annapolis Middle School
County: Anne Arundel
Teacher: Philip Casolo
BRONZE MEDALIST, THIRD PLACE
Student: Jake Blum
Category: Senior Individual Documentary
Topic: Beyond the Shadow of Agent Orange: Veterans Stand for Justice
School: Howard High School
County: Howard County
Teacher: Danelle Brennan
OUTSTANDING STATE ENTRY AWARD – JUNIOR DIVISION
Students: Tyler Cassidy and Edward Williams
Category: Junior Group Exhibit
Topic: Brown v. Board of Education of Calvert County: Taking a Stand for African-American Teachers
School: Plum Point Middle School
County: Calvert County
Teachers: Merry Ellen McGown and Susan Cox
OUTSTANDING STATE ENTRY AWARD – SENIOR DIVISION
Student: Matthew Palatnik
Category: Senior Papers
Topic: Jane Jacobs: People-Centered Cities and the Fight for Social Justice in Urban Planning
School: Poolesville High School
County: Montgomery County
Teacher: Allison Wilder
SPECIAL PRIZE – EQUALITY IN HISTORY
Students: Nicole Bachman, Sonia Goyal, and Sydney Shin
Category: Junior Group Documentary
Topic: Justin Dart Jr.: The Father of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Category: Junior Group Documentary
School: Lime Kiln Middle School
County: Howard County
SELECTED TO DISPLAY PROJECT AT THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION’S NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY
Students: Na Hye Kim and Theresa Dollar
Category: Senior Group Exhibit
Topic: Alfred Wegener and His Stand for Continental Drift
School: Poolesville High School
County: Montgomery County
Teacher: Daniel McKenna
SELECTED TO DISPLAY PROJECT AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE
Student: Jason Taylor
Category: Junior Individual Documentary
Topic: Coach Lincoln Phillips: Taking a Stand against the NCAA
School: Ellicott Mills Middle School
County: Howard County
Teacher: Cindy Waugh
SELECTED TO REPRESENT MARYLAND AT NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES “DAY ON THE HILL”
Student: Tejal Schwartz
Category: Junior Individual Performance
Topic: Project C and the Birmingham Children’s Crusade: How the Children Marched to End Segregation
School: Roland Park Elementary Middle School
County: Baltimore City
Teacher: Alexandra Fleming
SCHOLARSHIP TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
Student: Na Hye Kim
Category: Senior Group Exhibit
Topic: Alfred Wegener and His Stand for Continental Drift
School: Poolesville High School
County: Montgomery County
Teacher: Daniel McKenna
FINALISTS
Student: Emmeline Murphy
Category: Junior Paper
Topic: Taylor Manor: Taking a Stand for Mental Health
School: Ellicott Mills Middle School
County: Howard County
Teachers: Gregory Mushro and Kathy Manley
Students: Na Hye Kim and Theresa Dollar
Category: Senior Group Exhibit
Topic: Alfred Wegener and His Stand for Continental Drift
School: Poolesville High School
County: Montgomery County
Teacher: Daniel McKenna
Student: Matthew Heymann
Category: Senior Individual Website
Topic: E. Cuyler Hammond: The Stand against Cigarettes
School: Bullis School
County: Montgomery County
Teacher: Sara Romeyn
Students: Christopher Pondoc and Jamie Roan
Category: Senior Group Website
Topic: The Inability to Take a Stand: The Navajo Nation and the Need for Uranium
School: Frederick High School
County: Frederick County
Teacher: Beth Strakonsky
Students: Alice Walker and Maria Phelps
Category: Senior Group Documentary
Topic: Candace Lightner: She Got M.A.D.D.
School: Poolesville High School
County: Montgomery County
Teacher: Allison Wilder
The full list of Maryland honorees is also available online at https://www.mdhumanities.org/programs/maryland-history-day/national-history-day-winners/.
Maryland Humanities is a statewide, educational nonprofit organization that creates and supports educational experiences in the humanities that inspire all Marylanders to embrace lifelong learning, exchange ideas openly, and enrich their communities. For more information, visit mdhumanities.org. Maryland Humanities is generously supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the State of Maryland, private foundations, corporations, small businesses, and individual donors.