CT Students Win Awards at National History Day Contest

Hartford, CT/College Park, MD – Connecticut’s top student historians participated in the prestigious National History Day Contest at the University of Maryland in College Park from June 15 to June 18. Seventy-six Connecticut students competed with more than 2,900 students from across the country. Several Connecticut students received special recognition:

Annabel Barry, Quinn Barry, Isabelle Altherr, Maxwell Chung and Shannon Madden won First Place in Senior Group Performance for their project A Terrible Beauty is Born: The Leadership of James Connolly and Patrick Pearse and the Controversial Legacy of the Easter Rising.

The national champions are students at Pequot Home School in Southport.

Sam Porcello won Third Place in Senior Individual Exhibit for his project Pope’s Not So Ordinary Legacy: Paving the Way for America’s Mobility. Sam is a student at Conard High School in West Hartford.

The Outstanding Connecticut Entry Award in the Senior Division was awarded to Swati Rath, Smrithi Raman and Sahiti Alavala for their Senior Group Website, World Wide Webster, a project about Noah Webster. They are students at Farmington High School. 

Jack Higgins from Thomas Edison Middle School in Meriden won Outstanding Connecticut Entry in the Junior Division for his Individual Documentary, The Quiet Leadership of Major Karl Plagge.

Emma Cook of Southington, a student from Classical Magnet School in Hartford, was selected for a Salute to Courage Award. She and a chaperone will be attending the opening of the Road to Tokyo exhibition at the World War II Museum in New Orleans later this year.

Anaisja Henry of Hartford, a student at Renzulli Academy in Hartford, attended “Breakfast on the Hill” with members of Congress, an event sponsored by National Endowment for the Humanities. Anaisja participated in the Junior Individual Website category.

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet: Leader in Deaf Education, an exhibit created by Jayde Zainc, Jackie Tavoletti, and Cassie Reilly from Memorial Middle School in Middlebury, was one of only fifty seven projects featured at “National History Night” at the National Museum of American History on Wednesday, June 17. 

Tanusri Bell, a student from the Academy of Information Technology and Engineering in Stamford, was one of only 25 students selected to participate in a special Paper Writers' Event at the Library of Congress. Featured speakers included the Historian of the House of Representatives, Matthew Wasniewski.

Photos from the Connecticut Delegation’s week at the National History Day Contest can be found on the History Day in Connecticut Facebook page.

During the five-day contest, the Connecticut delegation spent a day exploring Washington D.C.  They met with Senator Richard Blumenthal, visited the U.S. Capitol, toured the National Archives and enjoyed a behind the scenes visit to the Map Department of the Library of Congress.

History Day students spent months conducting historical research and creating projects (paper, exhibits, websites, documentaries and performances). The students who participated in the National Contest had previously placed first or second at the State History Day Contest, which was held on May 9, 2015 at Central Connecticut State University.

Over 4,000 middle and high school students participate in History Day in Connecticut, one of 57 affiliate programs of National History Day, a renowned, year-long, academic program. The road to National History Day (NHD) usually begins in Connecticut’s classrooms and home schools where students choose topics reflecting an annual NHD theme, conduct research and analysis and create an exhibit, performance, website, paper or documentary that shares their findings. Of these, over a thousand students competed in this year’s Regional Contests, with 400 of winners going on to the State Contest, which sends first and second-place winners on to Nationals. All of this is made possible by a strong collaboration among many of Connecticut’s history organizations who work with dedicated educators to help students develop critical thinking skills and a passion for learning and sharing history. A shared goal is to encourage a lifelong interest in Connecticut’s rich stories, archives, historic buildings and museum collections. The collaboration is led by Connecticut’s Old State House, funded by Connecticut Humanities, and supported by the Connecticut League of History Organizations, the Connecticut Historical Society, Central Connecticut State University and scores of historical societies and civic groups who provide special prizes at the state level.

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Submitted by Fairfield, CT

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