Each year nearly 700 Maryland students advance to the Maryland History Day state competition at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
See which teachers were honored, who walked away with special prizes, and which projects were selected to advance to the 2019 National History Day® competition in College Park, MD.
Maryland History Day 2020 Advancers to National History Day (written in order of first and second place)
- Junior Papers
A Double-Edged Sword: The Way Streetcars Changed Life in Washington, D.C.
Student: Seyun Park
School: North Bethesda Middle School
Teacher: Benjamin IsraelVictory at the School Gates: The Systemic Barrier Breaking of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District
Student: Ayodele Ayoola
School: Franklin Middle School
Teacher: Christine Watson - Junior Individual Exhibits, sponsored by Columbia Gas of Maryland
“Aren’t Lights Grand?”: Breaking Barriers in History with Rural Electrification
Student: Laura Huelskamp
School: Northern Middle School
Teacher: Amanda WilburnElizabeth Blackwell: Breaking Barriers for Women in the Medical Field
Student: Kendall Madison
School: Mayfield Woods Middle School
Teacher: Elizabeth Singleton - Junior Group Exhibits, sponsored by Columbia Gas of Maryland
Virginia Hall: An Unconventional Woman During Unconventional Times
Students: Lucy Choe, Menna Hassan
School: Burleigh Manor Middle School
Teacher: Geordie PaulusClara Barton: Search for Soldiers
Students: Helen Nguyen, Rithma Premarathne
School: Thomas Viaduct Middle School
Teacher: Laura Attridge - Junior Individual Documentaries, sponsored by Wegmans
Ashes Ashes We All Fell Down: How the 1964 U.S. Surgeon General’s Report Helped Break Tobacco’s Grip on American Health
Student: S. Abigail Giroux
School: The Bryn Mawr School
Teacher: Matthew HetrickWASPS: Living in the Shadows of History
Student: Savannah Buffum
School: Centreville Middle School
Teacher: Andrew Anders - Junior Group Documentaries, sponsored by Wegmans
Mr. Rogers: A Neighbor To All
Students: Jada Ferrell, Hannah Magruder
School: Accokeek Academy
Teacher: Arun PurackenThe First School for the Deaf
Students: Caitlin Bossie, Haley Ko, Kevin Sisk
School: Lime Kiln Middle School
Teacher: Tracy Ganey - Junior Individual Performances
The Courageous Elizabeth Blackwell
Student: Anastasia Gumbel
School: St. Mark School
Teacher: Kelly UpdikeRachel Carson: Breaking the Barriers of Chauvinism In Society and Science to Become the Voice of Conservation
Student: Skylan Brassell
School: Neighborhood Creative Arts Center
Teacher: Georgia Bonney - Junior Group Performances
The Book that Affected Millions of Hearts
Students: Raji Shah, Samara Rahman
School: Bonnie Branch Middle School
Teacher: Janine SharbaughThe Edmonson Sisters: The Musical
Students: Arianna Dorman, Elda Berhaneyessus, Sa’kiya Nicholas
School: Accokeek Academy
Teacher: Arun Puracken - Junior Individual Websites
Defeating Odds: Jonas Salk’s Polio Vaccine
Student: Seth Markey
School: Bonnie Branch Middle School
Teacher: Janine SharbaughWar of the Currents: Nikola Tesla vs. Thomas Edison Feud
Student: Oliviah Walton
School: Kenmoor Middle School
Teacher: Carol Carter - Junior Group Websites
Marie Curie: The Female Scientist Who Changed The World
Student: Sebastian Obarrio, Nicolas Zapata
Schools: Roland Park Elementary/Middle School
Teacher: Alexandra FlemingThe Unintended Consequences of Brown v. Board
Students: Alexander Bidwell, Alexander Chhoeu, Alexander Santiago, Amari Speights
School: Eastern Middle School
Teacher: Terence Earley - Senior Papers
Go For Broke: How Japanese American Soldiers Broke Through Prejudice and Distrust in World War II
Student: Jordan Su
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Katherine HoranBreaking the Distance Barrier: How America’s Use of the Telegraph Held Our Nation Together
Student: Aurea Sellmeyer
School: Home School
Teacher: Sarah Stecher - Senior Individual Exhibits, sponsored by Columbia Gas of Maryland
New Journalism! Breaking Barriers in the 1960s
Student: Ziyue Yang
School: Bullis School
Teacher: Patricia TopliffeOperation Paperclip: German Science, American Breakthroughs
Student: Carl Stahlberg
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Stephanie Gomer - Senior Group Exhibits, sponsored by Columbia Gas of Maryland
A Stand for Students: Tinker V. Des Moines
Students: Anna Chalupa, Gitanjali Raghava
School: Howard High School
Teacher: Leah ForanDry Manhattan and Chicago Fizz: How Prohibition Fashioned a New Era of Women and Entertainment
Students: Charlotte Vogel, Dora Kreitzer, Riley Salovich
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Stephanie Gomer - Senior Individual Documentaries, sponsored by Wegmans
Conquering a Killer: Breaking Barriers in the Effort to Eradicate Polio
Student: Caroline Andersen
School: Bullis School
Teacher: Patricia TopliffeKeith Haring: Breaking Barriers During the AIDS Crisis
Student: Matt Koff
School: Bullis School
Teacher: Patricia Topliffe - Senior Group Documentaries, sponsored by Wegmans
Breaking the Invisible Barrier: The National Mental Health Act of 1946
Students: Bobby Diaz, Rohin Garg, Thomas Huang, Allen Tang, Andrew Wang
School: Winston Churchill High
Teacher: Christopher ForneyHitchcock and the Hays Code: Breaking Barriers in Movie Censorship
Students: Joe Lubin, Caroline Park
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Stephanie Gomer - Senior Individual Performances
New York Times vs. United States: Breaking Barriers in Free Speech
Student: Laura Jia
School: Marriotts Ridge High School
Teacher: Lynn RashidJosephine Baker: Civil Rights Activist
Student: Lauren Carr
School: Long Reach High School
Teacher: Lisa Milak - Senior Group Performances
The Legacy of “Shuffle Along”: The First All Black Musical on Broadway
Students: Brenna Girard, Colleen Hueting
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Stephanie GomerImmigrants: A Definition of America
Students: Taishan Li, Aarifah Ullah
School: Bullis School
Teacher: Patricia Topliffe - Senior Individual Websites
George Perkins Marsh: Revolutionary Conservationist and Pioneer
Student: Colin Wang
School: Marriotts Ridge High School
Teacher: Lynn RashidThe Undying Legacy of Henrietta Lacks
Student: Caris Easton
School: Reservoir High School
Teacher: Jan Edlowitz - Senior Group Websites
The Integration of Women into NASA’s Astronaut Program
Students: Lucy Mao, Susanna Moore
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Stephanie GomerBreaking Barriers for All Athletes: the Story of Ludwig Guttmann and the Paralympics
Students: Joella Stepp, Trevor Stepp
School: Frederick Homeschoolers
Teacher: Christine Pritt
Maryland History Day Teachers Awards
- Maryland History Day Statewide Middle School Teacher of the Year
Sarah Mason
Bennet Middle School
Wicomico County - Maryland History Day Statewide High School Teacher of the Year
Scott Baker
North Dorchester High School
Dorchester County - Allegany County
Shera Chandler
Fort Hill High School - Anne Arundel County
Kim Dougherty
Southern Middle School - Baltimore City
Deneen McDonald
Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School - Calvert County
Lindsay Morris
Huntingtown High School - Carroll County
Rebecca Bell
Francis Scott Key High School - Cecil County
Amy Roose
The Tome School - Charles County
Benjamin J. Haman
General Smallwood Middle School - Frederick County
Karen Shomaker
Oakdale Middle School - Garrett County
Amanda Wilburn
Northern Middle School - Howard County
Jennifer Hamilton
Oakland Mills Middle School - Kent County
Jason Scheib
Kent County Middle School - Montgomery County
Ben Israel
North Bethesda Middle School - Prince George's County
Arun Puracken
Accokeek Academy - Queen Anne's County
Todd Boyer
Centreville Middle School - Somerset County
Randi Merritt
Somerset Intermediate School - Talbot County
Shyanne Snow
Easton Middle School - Washington County
Beth Kromka
Williamsport High School
2020 Special Prize Winners
- Special Prize in African American History, sponsored by the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture
The Cost of Equality: The Story of Daisy Bates
Category: Junior Individual Documentary
Student: Paige Plater
School: Windy Hill Middle
Teacher: Robert LusbyFrom Franklin to T’Challa: How Race Barriers Were Broken Through Comics
Category: Senior Individual Documentary
Student: Jackson Reichardt
School: Mount Saint Joseph High School
Teacher: Ryan Folmer - Senator Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. Award for Excellence in Government History
A Legal Breakthrough in Drug Regulation: The 1962 Amendments to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
Category: Junior Individual Documentary
Student: Judah Lippmann
School: Eastern Middle School
Teacher: Terence EarleyThe Eruption Against Corruption: Social Networking and Arab Spring
Category: Senior Group Documentary
Students: Brianna Simmons, Emma Weikert
School: South Hagerstown High School
Teacher: Matthew Poling, Jason Kamler - Asian History Special Prize, sponsored by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County History Department
Vietnamese America: A People, A Culture, An Identity
Category: Senior Individual Website
Student: Garrick Lewis
School: Parkville High School
Teacher: Adam Laye - Award for Excellence in Civic Action and Engagement, sponsored by the Maryland Council for the Social Studies
Overcoming Apartheid
Category: Junior Group Exhibit
Students: Benjamin Nazelrod, Michael Nazelrod
School: Southern Middle School
Teacher: Mike SanJulianBloody Sunday: Breaking Barriers for Voting Rights
Category: Senior Individual Exhibit
Student: Matthew Fialkowski
School: Maurice J. McDonough High School
Teacher: Christopher Scott - The Barry A. Lanman Award for Oral History, sponsored by Barry Lanman
The Civil Rights Act of 1968
Category: Junior Group Documentary
Students: Faith Novak, Hannah Branham
School: Centreville Middle School
Teacher: Thomas Hayman, Andrew Anders - Special Prize in Labor History, sponsored by Bill Barry and Friends
The Power of Protests: Carmela Teoli and the Bread and Roses Strike
Category: Junior Individual Performance
Student: Bella Sugarman
School: Roland Park Elementary/Middle School
Teacher: Alexandra FlemingFair Trade: Breaking Barriers by Bolstering the Developing World
Category: Senior Group Website
Students: Mackenzie McCarter, Hanna W
School: South Hagerstown High School
Teacher: Jason Kamler - Eugene J. Becker Award for Excellence in Cybersecurity and Cryptology , sponsored by National Cryptologic Museum Foundation
Code Breaking at Midway
Category: Junior Group Documentary
Students: Jack Harburger, Antione Sylvia
School: The Mount Washington School
Teacher: Ryan KaiserBeyond the Beauty: How Hedy Lamarr Engineered Society
Category: Senior Group Documentary
Students: Astri Doub, Jaimie Griffin, Elizabeth O’Brien
School: The Bryn Mawr School
Teacher: Matthew Hetrick - The George Washington Leadership Prize, sponsored by George Washington’s Mount Vernon
Breaking into the Modern Economy: Hamilton’s Financial Plan
Category: Junior Individual Performance
Student: Lily Granai
School: Bonnie Branch Middle School
Teacher: Janine SharbaughThomas Paine: Breaking Barriers with Pen and Paper
Category: Senior Individual Exhibit
Student: Carl Eckard
School: Fort Hill High School
Teacher: Kayla Hutson - The Major General John E. Morrison Award in Excellence and Innovation, sponsored by the National Cryptologic Museum Foundation
Charles Darwin: A Breaker and Builder of Barriers
Category: Junior Group Documentary
Student: Chloe Crawford, Jordan Shriner
School: Severna Park Middle School
Teacher: Jessica ButcherIgnaz Semmelweis: Pioneering Antiseptic Handwashing
Category: Senior Individual Exhibit
Student: Carlin Blash
School: South Hagerstown High School
Teacher: Jason Kamler - Special Prize in Maryland History, sponsored by the Maryland Historical Society
Steamboat Days on the Chesapeake: Connecting Shores
Category: Junior Individual Website
Student: Jude Gross
School: Kent School
Teacher: Patrick PearceBaltimore’s Black Butterfly: Confronting the Legacy of Redlining
Category: Senior Individual Exhibit
Student: Ava Wilson
School: Institute of Notre Dame
Teacher: Bridget Foley - Michael E. Patten Memorial History Award for Best Use of Primary Sources, sponsored by the Frank Patten Family
“Let Freedom Sing”: Breaking Barriers of Inequality Through Spirituals
Category: Senior Individual Documentary
Student: Hannah Park
School: James M. Bennett High School
Teacher: Meredith McGann - The Peace Study Center Award, sponsored by the Peace Study Center, Baltimore
Austrian Resistance to Nazi Occupation: How the Political Barriers of their Time Were Broken
Category: Junior Paper
Student: Dylan Ruppert
School: North Dorchester Middle School
Teacher: Mark LowrieBreaking Barriers in the Minds of Men: The Path to Peace in Northern Ireland
Category: Senior Individual Documentary
Student: Katherine Giroux
School: The Bryn Mawr School
Teacher: Matthew Hetrick - Special Prize in the History of Science and Technology, sponsored by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County History Department
Katherine Johnson: Breaking Gender and Racial Barriers
Category: Junior Group Website
Students: Jillian Daniel, Kathryn Daniel
School: John Hanson Middle School
Teacher: Victoria Davenport“The Man that Fights Again” How Prosthetics Impacted Civil War Veterans
Category: Senior Individual Exhibit
Student: Haley King
School: Washington High School & AcademyTeacher: Stephen Smith
- Special Prize in Women's History, sponsored by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County History Department
Lavender Menace: Breaking Barriers in the Women’s Movement
Category: Senior Group Documentary
Students: Allison Lord, Parker O’Neill
School: Westminster High School
Teacher: Arthur Matthews - Special Prize in Women's History, sponsored by the Maryland Women's Heritage Center
Artemisia Gentileschi: “I’ll Show You What a Woman Can Do”
Category: Junior Group Documentary
Students: Amelia Slagle, Zosha Tluszcz
School: West Frederick Middle School
Teacher: Heather Kehr - Special Prize in Historic Preservation, sponsored by the Maryland Historical Trust
Someone Decided We Should Get an Education: How Rosenwald Schools Changed America
Category: Junior Individual Documentary
Student: Linda Johnson
School: Southern Middle School
Teacher: Kyle PrescottMaritime Heroes of Liberty Ships: Breaking Barriers on Land and Sea
Category: Senior Individual Website
Student: Olivia Borkowski-Johnson
School: Bel Air High School
Teacher: Drusilla Herbert - Special Prize in Legal and Constitutional History, sponsored by Cynthia Raposo and Joseph Furey
Roe v. Wade: Breaking Barriers Beyond Abortion Rights
Category: Junior Paper
Student: Molly Ross
School: Mayfield Woods Middle School
Teacher: Kathleen Quinn“Love Shouldn’t Hurt”: Breaking the Women’s Domestic Violence Barrier
Category: Senior Group Exhibit
Students: Eden Thompson, Nivia Thimlick
School: Oxon Hill High School
Teacher: Thomas Klug