Maryland History Day Winners

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 2018 National History Day® competition in College Park, MD.

Maryland History Day 2018 Advancers to National History Day (written in order of first and second place)

  • Junior Papers

    The Calvert, the Crosslands, and the Maryland Flag
    Eloise Hartings
    Boonsboro Middle School, Washington County
    Teacher: David Lewis

    The Kashmir Conflict: Decades of Failed Compromises
    Sharvari Tirodkar
    Mayfield Woods Middle School, Howard County
    Teachers: Beth Singleton, Kathleen Quinn

  • Junior Individual Exhibits, sponsored by Columbia Gas of Maryland

    The Nullification Crisis: Precursor to the Civil War
    Anjali Vidyasagar
    Mayfield Woods Middle School, Howard County
    Teachers: Beth Singleton, Kathleen Quinn

    We’re Not Tomboys, We’re ATHLETES- 37 Words That Changed Women’s SportsElise Longanecker
    Thoams Johnson Elementary/Middle School, Baltimore City
    Teacher: Cathy Brock

  • Junior Group Exhibits, sponsored by Columbia Gas of Maryland

    My Lai’s Outcry
    Sarah Broadwater, Kelsey King, Ellie Lawson, Camryn Woods
    Catonsville Middle School, Baltimore County
    Teachers: Robert Dungey, Katie Tucci

    The Berlin Wal: Conflict or Compromise?
    Darrah Clime, Rachel Dorn
    Plum Point Middle School, Calvert County
    Teachers: Gail Oakes, Adam Muffley

  • Junior Individual Documentaries, sponsored by Wegmans

    The Yugoslav Wars: Genocide without Justice
    Katherine Giroux
    Bryn Mawr School, Baltimore City
    Teacher: Matthew Hetrick

    The Conflict of Japanese Internment and the Insufficient Compromise to Internees
    Nithya Nuvvala
    Bonnie Branch Middle School, Howard County
    Teachers: Anne Schaefer, Janie Sharbaugh, Adam Yeargin

  • Junior Group Documentaries, sponsored by Wegmans

    The Harvesting of the HeLa Cell Line
    Anna Marchler, Prachi Shirguppi, Isabella Kridler
    Eastern Middle School, Montgomery County
    Teacher: T. Justin Earley

    Ed Roberts: Not a Victim
    Morris Williams, Theodore Xandr Zabel
    Roland Park Elementary/Middle School, Baltimore City
    Teacher: Alexandra Fleming

  • Junior Individual Performances

    World War II: An Inadvertent Catalyst for Women’s Equality
    Sophia Scherer
    Mayfield Woods Middle School, Howard County
    Teachers: Beth Singleton, Katie Quinn

    Abraham Lincoln: “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” 
    Morein Ibrahim
    West Frederick Middle School, Frederick County
    Teacher: Heather Kehr

  • Junior Group Performances

    The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
    Allison Howlett, Gabriela Kolbe, Isabella Martinez, Naomi Scissors
    Eastern Middle School, Montgomery County
    Teachers: T. Justin Earley

    Where the Two Lines Crossed
    Miguel Davidson, Adam Schutsky, Kabil Scott
    Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School, Baltimore City
    Teachers: Ben Harris

  • Junior Individual Websites

    Diversity in Times of fear: Japanese-American Internment
    Maria Chen
    Roland Park Elementary/Middle School, Baltimore City
    Teacher: Alexandra Fleming

    The Black 14
    Koy Greenwell
    Windy Hill Middle School, Calvert County
    Teachers: Robert Lusby

  • Junior Group Websites

    The FHA’s Effect on Black Housing: The Legalization of Segregation in American Neighborhoods
    Angelica Frude, Paris Ye, Lydia Yeh
    Eastern Middle School, Montgomery County
    Teachers: T. Justin Earley

    Colorado River Compact: Historical Lessons for Water Rights Management
    Abihith Velumuri, Colin Wang
    Burleigh Manor Middle School, Howard County
    Teachers: Robyn Page, Barbara Randolph, and Beth Berkeley

  • Senior Papers

    Conflict in the Coal Mines: The Anthracite Strike of 1902 and a New Precedent from Compromise
    Aurea Sellmeyer
    Homeschool, Montgomery County
    Teacher: Sarah Stecher

    Nation Shall Not Lift Up Sword Against Nation: The remarkable Road to the Camp David Accords
    Matthew Palatnik
    Poolesville High School, Montgomery County
    Teacher: Daniel McKenna

  • Senior Individual Exhibits, sponsored by Columbia Gas of Maryland

    The Bracero Program: A Conflict-Ridden Compromise
    Macy Palmer
    Poolesville High School, Montgomery County
    Teacher: Stephanie Gomer

    The Stonewall Uprising
    Lily Chalkley
    Frederick High School, Frederick County
    Teacher: Beth Strakonsky

  • Senior Group Exhibits, sponsored by Columbia Gas of Maryland

    Small Town, Small Voice, Big Issue
    Gwendolyn Boe, Bryce Davis
    Poolesville High School, Montgomery County
    Teacher: Daniel McKenna

    Conflict and Compromise: the Oslo Accords
    Grace Birth, Alexis Poindexter
    Institute of Notre Dame, Baltimore City
    Teacher: Caitlin Connor

  • Senior Individual Documentaries, sponsored by Wegmans

    On the Front Lines of Faith: Chaplains’ Reconciliation of Conflicting Roles in the Vietnam War
    Jake Blum
    Howard High School, Howard County
    Teacher: Mary Curtin

    A War for Peace: The Students for Democratic Society’s Conflict Against the Vietnam War
    Karynton Crawford
    Bullis School, Montgomery County
    Teacher: Patricia Topliffe

  • Senior Group Documentaries, sponsored by Wegmans

    Jeanne White-Ginder: Fighting for Her Son and Compromise
    Allison Lord, Parker O’Neil
    Westminister High School, Carroll County
    Teacher: Arthur Matthews

    The Radium Girls
    Ece Fisgin, Christine Kim
    River Hill High School, Howard County
    Teacher: Richard Gray, Diana Irby

  • Senior Individual Performances

    Stubbing Out the Cigarette: American’s Hundred Year War Against Smoking 
    Anirudh Saxena
    Marriotts Ridge High School, Howard County
    Teacher: Anthony Incontrera, Lynn Rashid

    Office of Pandemonium: Alberto Fujimori’s Abandonment of Morals Amid the Shining Path Era
    Isabel Huntley
    Poolesville High School, Montgomery County
    Teacher: Daniel McKenna

  • Senior Group Performances

    The Conflict in the Women’s Conference of  ’77: How Ideological Polarization Impacted the Discussion about Moral Issues in the Public
    Holly Anderson, Anusha Chinthalapale, Calley Mullin, Samantha Stewart
    Poolesville High School, Montgomery County
    Teachers: Daniel McKenna

    Wicked Silence: The War Against the Weak; The North Carolina Eugenics Board
    Hannah Chan, Phoebe Chan, and Erik Mechtel
    River Hill High School, Howard County
    Teachers: Richard Gray, Diana Irby

  • Senior Individual Websites

    We Shall Overcome: The 1965 Freedom Marches from Selma to Montgomery
    Leeah Derenoncourt
    Poolesville High School, Montgomery County
    Teacher: Stephanie Gomer

    The Iran Hostage Crisis: The Breaking Point in US-Iran relations
    Nishtha Gupta
    Reservoir High School, Howard County
    Teacher: Jennifer Coker

  • Senior Group Websites

    Quotas and Quibbles: A Series of Restrictive Immigration Acts of the 20th Century
    Julia Corfman, Angela Wang
    Poolesville High School, Montgomery County
    Teacher: Stephanie Gomer

    Conflict without Compromise: The Spanish Civil War and the Spread of Fascism 
    Christopher Pondoc and Jamie Roan
    Frederick High School, Frederick County
    Teacher: Beth Strakonsky, Michael Cleary

Maryland History Day Teachers Awards

  • Maryland History Day Statewide Middle School Teacher of the Year

    Thomas Crise
    Stevensville Middle School
    Queen Anne’s County

  • Maryland History Day Statewide High School Teacher of the Year

    Samuel Spinder
    North Hagerstown High School
    Washington County

  • Allegany County

    Tammy Twigg
    Allegany High School

  • Anne Arundel County

    Shelby Jones
    Glen Burnie High School

  • Baltimore City

    Sarah Martin
    The Mount Washington School

  • Baltimore County

    Adam Laye
    Parkville High School

  • Calvert County

    Juleiann Darrach
    Calvert Middle School

  • Caroline County

    Andrew Buffenmyer
    North Caroline High School

  • Carroll County

    Stacey Gruber
    Shiloh and West Middle Schools

  • Charles County

    Ayesha Clayton-Stanislas
    Matthew Henson Middle School

  • Frederick County

    Heather Kehr
    West Frederick Middle School

  • Howard County

    Richard Malt
    Marriotts Ridge High School

  • Kent County

    Tracy Hodge
    Galena Elementary School

  • Montgomery County

    T. Justin Earley
    Eastern Middle School

  • Prince George's County

    Irene Prescott
    Kenmoor Middle School

  • Somerset County

    Randi Merritt
    Somerset Intermediate School

  • Talbot County

    Ed Keeler
    Easton Middle School

  • Wicomico County

    Harry Suber
    Wicomico High School

  • Worcester County

    Sean Wilson
    Snow Hill Middle School

2018 Special Prize Winners

  • Special Prize in African American History, sponsored by the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture

    Conflict and Compromise of Harriet Tubman
    Katera Jones, Kalayah Murray
    Junior Group Performance
    Somerset Intermediate School, Somerset County
    Teacher: Randi Merritt

    The Harlem Globetrotters: Champions of Equality
    Daniel Bates
    Senior Individual Documentary
    Trinity Home School Academy, Prince George’s County
    Teacher: Robin Bates, Wendell Bates

  • Senator Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. Award for Excellence in Government History

    Election of 1824
    Steven Frances
    Junior Individual Exhibit
    Edgewood Middle School, Harford County
    Teacher: Kari Hart

    The Bretton Woods Conference: A World Economic Solution
    Ernest Ntangu
    Senior Individual Documentary
    Duval High School, Prince George’s County
    Teacher: David Koloski

  • Award for Excellence in Civic Action and Engagement, sponsored by the Maryland Council for the Social Studies

    “I Ain’t Afraid” The 1963 Children’s Crusade
    Sara Huelskamp
    Junior Individual Exhibit
    Northern Middle School, Garrett County
    Teacher: Amanda Wilburn

    A War for Peace: The Students for a Democratic Society’s Conflict Against the Vietnam War
    Karynton Crawford
    Senior Individual Documentary
    Bullis School, Montgomery County
    Teacher: Patricia Topliffe

  • The Barry A. Lanman Award for Oral History, Martha Ross Center for Oral History, UMBC

    My Lai’s Outcry
    Sarah Broadwater, Kelsey King, Ellie Lawson, Camryn Woods
    Junior Group Exhibit
    Catonsville Middle School, Baltimore County
    Teachers: Robert Dungey, Katie Tucci

  • Special Prize in Labor History, sponsored by Community College of Baltimore County, Labor Studies Program

    The Homestead Strike: Conflict, Compromise, and Carnegie
    Ava Rusko
    Junior Individual Documentary
    Roland Park Elementary/Middle School, Baltimore City
    Teacher: Alexandra Fleming

    Publishers vs Paperboys: The Newsboy Strike of 1899
    Jackie Wealer
    Senior Individual Website
    Northern High School, Calvert County
    Teacher: Ron Chew

  • The George Washington Leadership Prize, sponsored by the George Washington’s Mount Vernon

    The Conflict and Compromise of  the Whiskey Rebellion
    Avery Niles
    Senior Individual Exhibit
    Allegany High School, Allegany County
    Teacher: Kimberly Sloane

  • The Major General John E. Morrison Award in Excellence and Innovation, sponsored by the National Cryptologic Museum Foundation

    The History of Toliet Paper
    Kaci Grimplin, Paige Rattell
    Junior Group Performance
    Centreville Middle School, Queen Anne’s County
    Teacher: Thomas Hayman

    AC vs DC: The Conflict That Sparked and Electrical Compromise That Still Stands Today
    Sierra Burns
    Senior Individual Exhibit
    Howard High School, Howard County
    Teacher: Danelle Brennan

  • Milton Zaslow Award in Cryptology, sponsored by the National Cryptologic Museum Foundation

    ENIGMA: Alan Turing in WWII
    Morgan Babylon, Abha Shrestha
    Junior Group Exhibit
    West Middle School, Carroll County
    Teachers: Stacey Gruber

    Operation Mincemeat: How a Silent Spy, a Compromise, and Some Ingenuity Enabled the Allies to Push Forward to Victory in WWII
    Emily Rand
    Senior Paper
    Institute of Notre Dame, Baltimore City
    Teacher: Catlin Connor

  • Special Prize in Maryland History, sponsored by the Maryland Historical Society

    The Calverts, the Crosslands, and the Maryland Flag
    Eloise Hartings
    Junior Paper
    Boonsboro Middle School, Washington County
    Teacher: David Lewis

    Bridging the Divide: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge
    Felipe Calderon, Samantha Glenn, James Hsia, Gabrielle Hunt, Anisah Khattak
    Senior Group Documentary
    Parkside High School, Wicomico County
    Teacher: Nicholas Dudas

  • Michael E. Patten Memorial History Award for Best Use of Primary Sources, sponsored by the Frank Patten Family

    Flight to Extinction: The Conflict between American Progress and the Passenger Pidgeon 
    Claire Wayner
    Senior Individual Documentary
    Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Baltimore City
    Teacher: Maureen O’Neil

  • The Peace Study Center Award, sponsored by the Peace Study Center, Baltimore

    Nelson Mandela: the Fight to End Apartheid
    Graciella Ndjampa, Kelsey Njembu, Nehemiah Strawberry
    Junior Group Exhibit
    John Hanson Middle School, Charles County
    Teachers: Victoria Davenport

    “No Future without Forgiveness”: Overcoming Apartheid through the Truth and Reconciliation Committee
    Kailyn Nobel
    Senior Individual Website
    Frederick Homeschoolers, Frederick County
    Teacher: Christine Pritt

  • Special Prize in the History of Science and Technology, sponsored by the UMBC Human Context of Science & Technology Program

    The Green Revolution: Growing Forward While Stepping Back 
    Georgia Bardi, Clara McClintock, Gillian Stingley
    Junior Group Exhibit
    Eastern Middle School, Montgomery County
    Teacher: T. Justin Earley

    The Influence of Eugenics
    Jocelyn Faulenstine
    Senior Individual Documentary
    Francis Scott Key High School, Carroll County
    Teacher: Rebecca Bell

  • Special Prize in Women's History, sponsored by the Department of History, UMBC

    Queen Elizabeth vs Queen Mary
    Aria Islam
    Junior Individual Exhibit
    Stephen Decatur Middle School, Worcester County
    Teacher: Anne Cooke

  • Special Prize in Women's History, sponsored by the Maryland Women's Heritage Center

    Julia Ward Howe: The Fight for Women’s Rights
    Kayla Bevard, Vina Vo
    Senior Group Website
    Calvert High School, Calvert County
    Teacher: Amie Dryer

  • Special Prize in Historic Preservation, sponsored by the Maryland Historical Trust

    Castel Hall
    Meadow Timmons
    Junior Individual Website
    Lockerman Middle School, Caroline County
    Teacher: Shelby Williams

    The Clash of Culture in Alexandria
    Monica Becker, Erica Quinones
    Senior Group Exhibit
    Williamsport High School, Washington County
    Teacher: Beth Kromka

  • Special Prize in Legal and Constitutional History, sponsored by Cynthia Raposo and Joseph Furey

    The Salem Witch Trials: Clearing the Way for an Unbiased Court System
    Ana Morlier,  Ava Morlier
    Junior Group Performance
    Thurmont Middle School, Frederick County
    Teacher: Candace Desonier

    Executive Order 906: The Unconstitutional Injustice of Japanese Americans
    Virginia Wang
    Senior Individual Website
    Marriotts Ridge High School, Howard County
    Teacher: Anthony Incontrera, Lynn Rashid

  • “[The students] learned a variety of ways to present their material and they could focus on what they wanted to learn about. The students had a choice in their learning. It was about their learning NOT what someone else felt they need to learn.”

    ​Maryland History Day teacher

  • “The students are now far more prepared for the high level of scholarship and achievement that will be expected of them in future years. MHD also elevated many other skills too. These include public speaking, the use of technology, learning to collaborate.”

    ​Maryland History Day teacher

  • “I think the continual process of improving her research and presentation through the various levels of competition has been incredibly valuable. It has caused her to dig deeper in her research and build upon and refine her work and presentation.”

    ​Maryland History Day parent

  • “The thing that had the most impact were the skills that I got from this project. I developed better hunting skills in terms of looking for reliable sources and I also learned to work hard and not procrastinate to achieve something great.”

    Maryland History Day student participant

  • “The researching and communicating skills have made me a more confident person in all academic endeavors. These are skills that will last me a lifetime.”

    ​Maryland History Day student participant

  • “By using a variety of sources, I was able to get angles on my topic that I wasn’t able to before. Also, I learned so much about a topic near and dear to my heart that will enrich my learning later in life.”

    Maryland History Day 2015 Student

  • “[My son] became a real expert in his topic and, he says, developed a life-long love of history, especially the history of music. I cannot thank you enough for this rare and incredible opportunity.”

    Andrea LeWinter, parent of Maryland History Day participant

  • “The part of History Day that had the most impact on me was seeing all the other entries and entry categories. It was really inspiring to see so many different people of history honored for their leadership and legacy as that was this years theme. You forget that the whole world has a history and there are so many different people and leaders who make up that history. The fact that this day brings together all of us students, our imaginations, our creativity, research skills, and history really reminds you how much of us would be lost if we didn’t remember those who made an impact.”

    ​Maryland History Day student participant

  • “My students became more competent researchers, and took ownership of their work. They had total free reign to choose their topic, direct their research, and create their final project.”

    ​Maryland History Day 2015 Teacher

  • “I had never done anything like this before so it was a totally new experience to write a paper, be interviewed, and defend my positions. I now really know how to do research and it has improved my writing skills.”

    ​Maryland History Day 2015 Student

  • “It provided an opportunity for my child to learn through experiential opportunities. He had interviews and tours that were relevant to his topic that helped the history come alive and create unforgettable memories.”

    Maryland History Day 2015 Parent

  • “Maryland History Day challenged my daughter to go deeper, deeper in research analysis and presentation. It took her to a whole new level academically.”

    ​Maryland History Day parent

  • I’ve loved judging! It’s exciting to see the passion the middle schoolers have put in their projects. I hope that my critiques have helped strive for excellence throughout their lives.

    Dee Krasnansky, Maryland History Day Judge

  • “MHD illustrated the applicability of the study of history to contemporary issues and current events. It was very motivating to converse with the students about their historical topic and observe how they applied it to current events and their own life circumstances.”

    ​Maryland History Day parent

  • “I had never done anything like this before so it was a totally new experience to write a paper, be interviewed, and defend my positions. I now really know how to do research and it has improved my writing skills.”

    ​Maryland History Day student
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