Each year Maryland students advance to the Maryland History Day state competition.
See which teachers were honored, who walked away with special prizes, and which projects were selected to advance to the 2026 National History Day® competition in College Park, MD.
Maryland History Day 2026 National History Day National Qualifiers (written in order of first and second place)
- Junior Individual Documentaries
Student: Keyola Goune Ntemafack
Title: Breaking the Narrative: Southern Women’s Involvement in the Institution of Slavery
School: Eastern Middle School
Teacher: Ryan Flynn
County: Montgomery
Student: Isaac Chang
Title: Osage Murders: Oil, The Ni-u-kon-ska, and the Transformation of the FBI
School: Clarksville Middle School
Teacher: Jessica DiBenedetto
County: Howard
- Junior Group Documentaries
Students: Eve Samuel and Leonie Brown
Title: The Greensboro 4: A Story of Courage and Change
School: Wilde Lake Middle School
Teacher: Joanna Tanner
County: Howard
Students: Roman Jackson and William Groene
Title: Fly Me to the Moon
School: Frederick Homeschoolers
Teacher: Christine Pritt
County: Frederick
- Junior Individual Exhibits
Student: Hiba Hakkim
Title: The Oyster Navy
School: Burleigh Manor Middle School
Teacher: Nicholas Valenti
County: Howard
Student: Nicolette Peters
Title: 1969 Cuyahoga River Fire: Igniting an Environmental Revolution and Reforms
School: Plum Point Middle School
Teacher: Susan Cox
County: Calvert
- Junior Group Exhibits
Students: Aadhav Mohanraj, Lucas Li, and Veer Shah
Title: Six Dots That Changed the World: Giving Millions the Power to Read
School: Lime Kiln Middle School
Teacher: Gary McMullin
County: Howard
Students: Fiona Vasco and Noelle Simkanich
Title: The Baltimore Riot of 1968
School: Shady Grove Middle School
Teacher: Vassiliki Key
County: Montgomery
- Junior Papers
Student: Noora Najafi
Title: Revolution Through Resistance: How The Feminine Mystique and Its Critics Shaped and Reformed Second-Wave Feminism
School: The Bryn Mawr School
Teacher: Matthew Hetrick
County: Balimore City
Student: Ally Tian
Title: The Role of the Red Guards in the Cultural Revolution
School: Robert Frost Middle School
Teacher: Gina Watson
County: Montgomery
- Junior Individual Performance
Student: Clara Wang
Title: The Meiji Restoration: Japan’s Industrial Revolution
School: Burleigh Manor Middle School
Teacher: Nicholas Valenti
County: Howard
Student: Marion Pinski
Title: The March on Versailles: A Woman-Organized Movement
School: Eastern Middle School
Teacher: Abigail Petit
County: Montgomery
- Junior Group Performance
Students: Aditi Nambiar, Anwita Thoranadhula, Ritika Kawade, and Tanvi Anne
Title: The Stanton and Mott Legacy
School: Patapsco Middle School
Teacher: Kalina Salsman
County: Howard
Students: Beatrice Letnes and Saisha Bastola
Title: Every Child Can: The Suzuki Method’s Effect on Music Education
School: A. Mario Loiederman Middle School
Teacher: David Corcoran
County: Montgomery
- Junior Individual Website
Student: Bernadette Cate
Title: The Free Speech Movement: Revolution, Reaction, and Reform at UC Berkeley
School: Leandra Cate Home School
Teacher: Leandra Cate
County: Baltimore
Student: Atinuke Otolorin
Title: Decoding the Dream: How the Creation of Barbie Transformed Societal Views through Generations of Children
School: Clarksville Middle School
Teacher: Todd Wright
County: Howard
- Junior Group Website
Students: Aaron Ding and Emma Chen
Title: From Science to Society: How the Human Genome Project Revolutionized Medicine, Privacy, and Public Awareness
School: Clarksville Middle School
Teacher: Beth Ceglia
County: Howard
Students: Reagan Smith and Serena Lee
Title: Sanjayeo Ddareura – “Those Who Are Alive, Follow Us”: How the Korean People’s Courage Denied an Authoritarian Dictatorship
School: Westland Middle School
Teacher: Luke Maclay
County: Montgomery
- Senior Individual Documentary
Student: Thomas Wu
Title: The ADA: Rights, Revolutions and Reactions
School: Winston Churchill High School
Teacher: John Freundel
County: Montgomery
Student: McLuhan Conway
Title: A Debt Unpaid – The Story of America’s Black Wall Street
School: Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
Teacher: James Baker
County: Baltimore City
- Senior Group Documentary
Students: Cole Waybright, Ervin Stacy, and Maximilian Maczynski
Title: War on Trees: The Defoliation of South Vietnam
School: Montgomery Blair High School
Teacher: Marc Grossman
County: Montgomery
Students: Aria Fulton, Evelyn Rubens and Lena Yumoto
Title: Sunlight and Dynamite: The Secrets of the Stasi Files
School: River Hill High School
Teacher: Callie Casper
County: Howard
- Senior Individual Exhibit
Student: Hridaan Popuri
Title: Managing the Masses: Municipal Responses to the Spanish Flu
School: Walt Whitman High School
Teacher: Katherine Kalin
County: Montgomery
Student: Sophia Hillard
Title: Radicalism: The Reign of Terror that Reformed France
School: Meade High School
Teacher: Andrew Dangel
County: Anne Arundel
- Senior Group Exhibit
Students: Alexander Dacanay and James Woo
Title: The Oyster Wars of the Chesapeake Bay
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Stephanie Gomer
County: Montgomery
Students: Beatrix Cook and Lauren Briggs
Title: Ten Days in a Madhouse: A Journalist’s Fight for Reform
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Stephanie Gomer
County: Montgomery
- Senior Paper
Student: Marguerite Mauldin
Title: “Divine Liberty”: Women and the Revolutionary French Divorce Reform of 1792
School: Montgomery Blair High School
Teacher: Marc Grossman
County: Montgomery
Student: Cheyenne Coleman
Title: The American Reform of Menstrual Product Advertisements: 1918-2026
School: Leonardtown High School
Teacher: Tracy Harding
County: St. Mary’s
- Senior Individual Performance
Student: Shaunak Sahoo
Title: Ideas at War: Hetch Hetchy and America’s Environmental Divide
School: Marriotts Ridge High School
Teacher: Christina Costabile
County: Howard
Student: Maizy Burkom
Title: Behind Closed Doors: How the Willowbrook State School Scandal Revolutionized Institutional Care
School: Howard High School
Teacher: Leah Foran
County: Howard
- Senior Group Performance
Students: Aaditya Tumbde and Nick Wray
Title: Ludlow Massacre: The Presentation Reformation
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Stephanie Gomer
County: Montgomery
Students: Christian Frankovic, Ethan Kraft and Joe Miller
Title: The Red Scare Rap
School: Mount Saint Joseph High School
Teacher: Ryan Folmer
County: Baltimore City
- Senior Individual Website
Student: Julie Choi
Title: Relf v. Weinberger: Reforming the Sterilization Practices of the Eugenics Movement
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Andy Ward
County: Montgomery
Student: Ainoor Sair
Title: Bread and Roses: The Struggle, Sweat, and Fight for Justice
School: Howard High School
Teacher: Leah Foran
County: Howard
- Senior Group Website
Students: Mira and Suriya Kalirai
Title: The Stanford Prison Experiment: How a Revolutionary Study Led to Radical Reformation
School: River Hill High School
Teacher: Callie Casper
County: Howard
Students: Hanna Ariannejad, Kayla McCloskey, and Natalie Martin
Title: Silent Spring: DDT, Dissent, and the Dawn of a New Era
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Stephanie Gomer
County: Montgomery
- Maryland History Day Statewide Middle School Teacher of the Year
Victoria Davenport
John Hanson Middle School
Charles County
- Maryland History Day Statewide High School Teacher of the Year
Andrew Buffenmyer
North Caroline High School
Caroline County
- Anne Arundel County
Colin Campbell
South River High School
- Baltimore City
Caroline Kilner
Mount Royal Elementary/Middle School
- Baltimore County
Jeff Walters
Hereford High School
- Calvert County
Amber Mullins
Plum Point Middle School
- Carroll County
Emma Harris
Westminster East Middle School
- Cecil County
Amy Roose
The Tome School
- Frederick County
Joseph Hawkins
Linganore High School
- Garrett County
Amanda Wilburn
Northern Garrett Middle School
- Howard County
Elizabeth Berkeley
Burleigh Manor Middle School
- Juvenile Services Education Program
Antonia Spencer
Charles H. Hickey School
- Kent County
Jason Schieb
Kent County High School
- Montgomery County
Christopher Forney
Winston Churchill High School
- Prince George’s County
Raizl Campbell
Academy of Health and Science at PGCC
- Queen Anne’s County
Todd Boyer
Centreville Middle School
- Talbot County
Jordan Miller
Saint Michaels Middle High School
- Somerset County
Katie Hancock
Washington High School
- Marilyn Hatza Award for Excellence in African American History, Sponsored by the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture
Student: Kiyokee-Lee Douglas
Title: From Poverty to Power: The Madam C.J. Walker Story
Category: Junior Individual Exhibit
School: East Middle School
Teacher: Denise Kresslein, Emma Harris
County: Carroll
Students: Gabriel Romero and Nikhil Krishna
Title: The 1955 Sit-in at Read’s Drug Store: A Catalyst for Revolution
Category: Senior Group Documentary
School: Gilman School
Teacher: Matthew Baum
County: Baltimore City
- Award for Excellence in Asian History, Sponsored by the Yuan Foundation
Student: Arianna Nolasco
Title: Himagsikang Pilipino
Category: Junior Individual Exhibit
School: Parkville Middle School
Teacher: Matthew Drews
County: Baltimore
Students: Jisong Leo Lin and Ximu Wang
Title: Chinese Simplification Revolution
Category: Senior Group Exhibit
School: The Calverton School
Teacher: Amie Dryer
County: Calvert
- Award for Excellence in Civic Engagement and Action, Sponsored by the Maryland Council for the Social Studies
Students: Danielle Peele, Keren Cantor, and Semaj Smith
Title: Endangered Species Act of 1973′ : Animals Protected from the Dangers of Man
Category: Junior Group Website
School: The Mount Washington School
Teacher: Sarah Martin
County: Baltimore City
Student: I. H.
Title: Why is it Important for the United States to Address the issue of low morale in the military?
Category: Senior Individual Exhibit
School: Western Maryland Children’s Center School
Teacher: Mary Voorhees and Sarah Eberle
County: Juvenile Services Education Program
- Eugene J. Becker Award for Excellence in Cybersecurity and Cryptology, Sponsored by National Cryptologic Foundation
Students: Grace Gorham, Helena Fawcett, Mae Mittenthal, Parker Orlaskey, and Zoe Naasz
Title: Hedy Lamarr: Inventing the Invisible
Category: Junior Group Exhibit
School: Hampstead Hill Academy
Teacher: Amy Kosmer
County: Baltimore City
Student: Christopher Cochran
Title: Midway to a New Era: How the Battle of Midway Shaped Warfare
Category: Senior Individual Website
School: Mount Saint Joseph High School
Teacher: Ryan Folmer
County: Baltimore City
- The George Washington Leadership Prize, Sponsored by George Washington’s Mount Vernon
Student: John Mateo
Title: George Washington’s Ring of Spies: The Culper Ring
Category: Junior Individual Exhibit
School: Mattawoman Middle School
Teacher: Tessa Thomas
County: Charles
Students: Gwendolyn Kostovick and Brystol Marsh
Title: Alexander Hamilton
Category: Junior Group Exhibit
School: Northern Middle School
Teacher: Amanda Wilburn
County: Garrett
- Senator Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. Award for Excellence in Government History, Sponsored by a Devoted Friend on Behalf of the Family of Senator Miller
Student: Leo Twait
Title: James A. Garfield: The Death That Led To Meritocracy
Category: Junior Individual Documentary
School: Ballenger Creek Middle
Teacher: Claudine Webb
County: Frederick
Students: Aarav Lingampalli, Daniel Suarez, Henry Pape, and Pushpak Keesara
Title: The Roar of Silence: The 1986 People Power Revolution and the Fall of an Implacable Dictatorship
Category: Senior Group Documentary
School: Linganore High School
Teacher: Joseph Hawkins
County: Frederick
- Award for Excellence of Healthcare Advocacy in History, Sponsored by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Student: Teagan Golden
Title: Elizabeth Blackwell and the Transformation of American Medicine
Category: Junior Paper
School: Easton Middle School
Teacher: Lindsay Matthews
County: Talbot
Students: Abigail Burgher and Elizabeth Harvey
Title: Blood Sisters
Category: Senior Group Website
School: The Calverton School
Teacher: Amie Dryer
County: Calvert
- Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation, Sponsored by the Maryland Historical Trust
Student: Saanvi Lanke
Title: Three Generations: Buck v Bell and the Legalization of Eugenics in America
Category: Junior Individual Website
School: Shady Grove Middle School
Teacher: Vassiliki Key
County: Montgomery
Student: Maxwell Adams-Rossman
Title: The Railway with a Heart of Gold How the Talyllyn Railway Saved the History of Steam Engines
Category: Senior Individual Exhibit
School: Frederick Homeschoolers
Teacher: Christine Pritt
County: Frederick
- Award for Excellence in the History of Immigration and Immigrants, Sponsored by MFT Events & Friends
Students: Jimmy Xu, Karim Bentahar, Rohan Patel, and Samuel Park
Title: Opening America’s Doors: How the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 Reshaped a Nation.
Category: Senior Group Documentary
School: Eastern Technical High School
Teacher: Brian Desmond
County: Baltimore
- Award for Excellence in Indigenous History, Sponsored by Friends of Seekers Church and Supporters Like You
Student: Madeline Gidley
Title: Trails Forged by Force: Revolution, Reaction & Reform of the Potawatomi Nation
Category: Junior Individual Exhibit
School: Father Andrew White
Teacher: Sarah Conners
County: St. Mary’s
- Award for Excellence in Labor History, Sponsored by Bill Barry and Friends
Students: Maliha Randolph and Nova Olysse
Title: The Keating-Owen Child Labor Act
Category: Junior Group Performance
School: John Hanson Middle School
Teacher: Jazlyn Wheaton, Victoria Davenport
County: Charles
Student: Sydney Monroe
Title: Rails of Resistance: The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters’ Road to Reform
Category: Senior Individual Documentary
School: Long Reach High School
Teacher: Lisa Milak
County: Howard
- Excellence in Latine History Award, Sponsored by Baker Cruz Services, Veronica Gallardo, and Alejandra Balcázar
Student: Jazmine Martinez
Title: The Guatemala Civil War
Category: Junior Individual Website
School: Chesapeake Science Point
Teacher: Alexander Powelson
County: Anne Arundel
Students: Charlotte Rubin, Daisy Peretti, and Molly Stoltzfus
Title: Proposition 187
Category: Junior Group Documentary
School: College Park Academy
Teacher: Angela Ohl
County: Prince George’s
- Award for Excellence in Legal and Constitutional History, Sponsored by Cynthia Raposo and Joseph Furey
Student: Emerson Hildebrandt
Title: Revolution, Reaction, Reform: The Fight for Civil Rights
Category: Junior Individual Documentary
School: Mill Creek Middle School
Teacher: Benjamin Keys
County: Calvert
Student: Junior Israel Mondragon Soto
Title: Legitimacy Over Justice: How Bioethical Reforms Preserved Institutions while Failing Marginalized Communities
Category: Senior Paper
School: Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
Teacher: James Baker
County: Baltimore City
- Award for Excellence in LGBTQ+ History, Sponsored by Cassie Batterbee and Friends
Students: Brielle McCracken, Calloway Turner, Gwendolyn Davis, and Kaylan Turner
Title: The Stonewall Riots
Category: Junior Group Website
School: Lockerman Middle School
Teacher: Linda Echternach
County: Caroline
Students: Arabelle Radcliff and Jessica Peters
Title: The Pink Triangle’s Reformation
Category: Junior Group Performance
School: Patuxent Valley Middle School
Teacher: Monica Chelidona, Tim Williamson
County: Howard
- Award for Excellence in Maryland History, Sponsored by the Maryland Center for History and Culture
Students: Delainey Rosas and Zea Chappell
Title: The People and Events Behind the Battle of Baltimore
Category: Junior Group Website
School: West Middle School
Teacher: Kate Flint
County: Carroll
Student: Joseph Hong
Title: Shells, States, and Strife: A History of the Oyster Wars
Category: Senior Individual Exhibit
School: Mount Saint Joseph High School
Teacher: Ryan Folmer
County: Baltimore City
- The Award for Excellence in United States Military History, Sponsored by the Maryland Military Monuments Commission
Students: Grace Ray and Keira Grove
Title: Clara Barton and the Revolutionary Founding of the American Red Cross
Category: Junior Group Exhibit
School: The Tome School
Teacher: Amy Roose
County: Cecil
Student: Aurora Casey
Title: Breaking the Waves: Women at the United States Naval Academy
Category: Senior Individual Documentary
School: The Calverton School
Teacher: Amie Dryer
County: Calvert
- The Barry A. Lanman Award for Excellence in Oral History, Sponsored by Barry Lanman and the UMES Foundation
Student: Mirus Rogers and Zoey Sawyer
Title: The Little Rock Nine
Category: Junior Group Documentary
School: Montebello Elementary/Middle School
Teacher: Keri Schlein, Tara Welch
County: Baltimore City
- The Major General John E. Morrison Award for Excellence in STEM Education and Innovation, Sponsored by the National Cryptologic Foundation
Student: Lawson Call
Title: The Wonderful World Wide Web: This is for Everyone
Category: Junior Individual Exhibit
School: Northern Middle School
Teacher: Amanda Wilburn
County: Garrett
Student: Amelia Hawley and Violet Ashdown
Title: Beatrice Hicks: Leader of Women in Engineering
Category: Senior Group Exhibit
School: Broadneck High School
Teacher: Brian Hussey
County: Anne Arundel
- Michael E. Patten Memorial History Award for Best Use of Primary Sources, Sponsored by the Frank Patten Family & Friends of the MD State Archives
Student: Seyram Sablah
Title: The Color of Becoming
Category: Senior Individual Performance
School: Oxon Hill High School
Teacher: Elexis Brooks
County: Prince George’s
- Excellence in White House History, Sponsored by the White House Historical Association
Students: Jett Aller and Tucker Stehl
Title: How the Reaction of John F. Kennedy’s Assassination Revolutionized and Reformed the Secret Service
Category: Junior Group Documentary
School: The Tome School
Teacher: Amy Roose
County: Cecil
Student: Ryleigh Butler
Title: When The Loudest Voice Was Silent
Category: Senior Individual Performance
School: Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Teacher: Judi Barrera
County: Prince George’s
- Special Prize for Excellence in Women’s History – Junior Division, Sponsored by BFG Financial Advisors
Student: Paige Willey
Title: DDT: A Nation Poisoned
Category: Junior Paper
School: Lockerman Middle School
Teacher: Skyler Kochan-Eaton
County: Caroline
- Special Prize for Excellence in Women’s History – Senior Division, Sponsored by the Maryland Women’s History Initiative
Student: Violet Wong
Title: Dorothea Dix: Advocating for Reform in Mental Hospitals
Category: Senior Individual Exhibit
School: Towson High School
Teacher: Jeffrey Carter
County: Baltimore
NHD® and Maryland Humanities Contest Disclaimer
National History Day® and Maryland Humanities does not censor student contest entries based on content. This means that the views and opinions expressed in student entries are those of the students and/or the sources cited in their projects. They may not and often do not represent the views or opinions of National History Day, Inc., Maryland Humanities or its donors, sponsors, supporters, partners, or affiliates.