Fairfield, CT – This past Saturday, March 21, 2015, over 300 students representing the communities of Bridgeport, Fairfield, Greenwich, Middlebury, Newtown, Norwalk, Redding, Ridgefield, Sandy Hook, Shelton, Southbury, Stamford, Wallingford, Weston, Westport and Wilton presented their History Day projects to judges at the Fairfield Regional History Day in Connecticut Contest at Fairfield University.
State Senator Tony Hwang and State Representatives Cristin McCarthy Vahey, Laura Devlin and Brenda Kupchick presented awards to students who placed within the top three of their respective categories at an Award Ceremony that took place at the end of the day. Judges, students and their families were also entertained by the Coastal Chordsmen, a Bridgeport-based non-profit men's chorus known for their entertaining a cappella performances.
History Day participants can choose to present their projects, which must be based on this year’s theme of Leadership and Legacy in History, within one of the five History Day categories. These categories include exhibits, documentaries, websites, papers and performances. Students in grades 6-8 compete within the Junior Division and students in grades 9-12 compete within the Senior Division. Students who place in the top three in their respective categories and divisions are invited to compete in the State History Day Contest, which will take place on May 9, 2015 at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain.
The following students from Fairfield County advanced:
Category: Individual Exhibit
First Place: Estelle Griswold- Leadership and Legacy of Reproductive Rights Student: Lauren Stack
School: Staples High School, Westport
Second Place: Richard Rough: Nature Conservancy Student: Jackson Daines
School: Staples High School, Westport
Third Place: Women in Engineering: Emil Roebling Student: Elizabeth Gikas
School: Staples High School, Westport
Category: Group Exhibit
First Place: Katherine Hepburn Students: Christina Yu, Claire Seo
School: Staples High School, Westport
Second Place: J. Alden Weir: Painting a Legacy
Students: Isabel Saltzman, Mary Lynch, Elizabeth Lynch, Hana Previte, Claire Graham
School: Wilton High School, Wilton
Third Place: Westport Country Playhouse Students: Alice Hickson, Zoe Mezoff, Julie Kaplan
School: Staples High School, Westport
Category: Group Documentary
First Place: Frederick Rentschler Students: Jonathan Demeter, Benjamin Shmaruk, Dylan Gleicher
School: Staples High School, Westport
Second Place: Leadership and Legacy of New Haven Pizza Students: Logan Horowitz, Jake Moskowitz, Jack Pflug, Jerrett Rende
School: Staples High School, Westport
Third Place: Igor Sikorsky- A Leader in Aviation Students: James Farnen, Kieran Clarke
School: Staples High School, Westport
Category: Individual Documentary
First Place: Leadership and Legacy of Tanaquil LeClercq Students: Elizabeth Rhoads
School: Staples High School, Westport
Second Place: Prudence Crandall Student: Alex McMahon
School: Staples High School, Westport
Third Place: Harriet Beecher Stowe Student: Kellie Innacone
School: Staples High School, Westport
Category: Group Website
First Place: Samuel Colt
Students: Kyle Fenstermacher, Wesley Beeler, Evan Hruskar School: Staples High School, Westport
Second Place: Igor Skikorsky
Students: Ananya Balaji, Dylan Diamond, Ben Parker, Zack Ross School: Staples High School, Westport
Third Place: Connecticut Sports
Students: Bryan Penwell, Finn McCartin
Category: Individual Website
First Place: Ella Grasso Student: Lulu Stracher
School: Staples High School, Westport
Second Place: Ulysses S Grant: A Legacy of Corruption Student: Carolina Jones
School: Brien McMahon High School, Norwalk
Category: Senior Paper
Student: Alice Chaumann School: Academy of Information Technology and Engineering, Stamford
Second Place: Clara Barton: From Stubbornness to Success
Student: Tanusri Balla School: Academy of Information Technology and Engineering, Stamford
Junior Division
Category: Group Website
First Place: Alfred Nobel Innovator to the Modern Era Students: Soumya Ganti, Abby Moran, Srishti Pithadia
School: Madison Middle School, Madison
Second Place: Wernher Von Braun: Rocketing into the Space Age Students: Aidan Kiley, Henry Essex School: Fairfield Woods Middle School, Fairfield
Third Place: History of the Klu Klux Klan
Students: Jonathan Dias, Isaiah Merced School: Shelton Intermediate School, Shelton
Category: Individual Website
First Place: JFK and his Navigation through the Cuban Missile Crisis Student: Luke Welch
School: Bedford Middle School, Westport
Second Place: General Patton Student: Kyle Young
School: Shelton Intermediate School, Shelton
Third Place: Rosalind Franklin Student: Peter Porrello
School: Rochambeau Middle School, Southbury
Category: Group Documentary
First Place: Dietrich Bonhoeffer Students: Brendan Moore, Tobey Bill, David Tamburri, Beck Reiferson
School: Weston Middle School, Weston
Second Place: Sir Nicholas Winto and the Kinder Transport Students: Etoile Blaquiere, Vivian Wen, Grace Millman
School: Weston Middle School, Weston
Third Place: Steve Jobs Students: Alexander Yu, Christopher, Pellegrini, Joseph Zarif, Kelvin Zhang
School: Memorial Middle School, Middlebury
Category: Individual Documentary
First Place: George Eastman: Reinventing the Image Student: Camden Archambeau
School: Cairn Hill Academy, Weston
Second Place: Bells Calling Student: Hannah Nekritz
School: Turn of River Middle School, Stamford
Category: Group Exhibit
First Place: Coco: Building the House of Chanel Students: Emily Sforza, Zoe Gupta, Mia Pollock
School: Fairfield Woods Middle School, Fairfield
Second Place: Malala Yousafzai: Leader, Activist, Heroine Students: Lynne Andre, Hadley Day
School: Fairfield Woods Middle School, Fairfield
Third Place: Louis Zamperini: A Story of Forgiveness, Strength and Perseverance Students: Riya Dave, Luka Holderied
School: Fairfield Woods Middle School, Fairfield
Category: Individual Exhibit
First Place: Educating the Public and the Persecuted: How Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Books and Prudence Crandall’s School Helped to Make Integration Possible
Student: Jasmine Conley School: Roger Ludlowe Middle School, Fairfield
Second Place: The Undying Jefferson: Leadership and Legacy
Student: Sophie Jalkut School: Roger Ludlowe Middle School, Fairfield
Third Place: Little Rock Nine
Student: Rose Luczaj School: Roger Ludlowe Middle School, Fairfield
Category: Group Performance
First Place: Emma Goldman: Speaking Truth to Power Students: Caroline Lauf, Maggie Limone
School: Fairfield Woods Middle School, Fairfield
Second Place: Wild Bill Donovan Students: Colleen Moore, Julia Morledge
School: Weston Middle School, Weston
Third Place: Igor Sikorsky: Pioneer, Aviator, Innovator Students: Mark Handler, Ethan Rodier, Peter Cullen, Samir Singh, Matt Holden
School: Fairfield Woods Middle School, Fairfield
Category: Individual Performance
First Place: Winston Churchill: The Great Orator Student: James Gikas
School: Bedford Middle School, Westport
Second Place: Harriet Beecher Stowe Students: Grace Sperber
School: Covent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich
Third Place: Eleanor Roosevelt and Marian Anderson: Voices for Freedom Students: Meghan Andrade
School: Tomlinson Middle School, Fairfield
Category: Junior Paper
First Place: Nelson Mandela Student: Jack Adams
School: Roger Ludlow Middle School, Fairfield
Second Place: Isabella Beecher Hooker: An Archivist Lost in Time Student: Lizzie Hinds
School: Fairfield Woods Middle School, Fairfield
Third Place: Julia Child Student: Julian Coyle
School: Phoenix Prep, Fairfield