Sixty-five students from the Volunteer State have qualified for a trip to Maryland this summer after their projects were judged the best of the best at Tennessee History Day over the weekend.
History Day is an event in which students in grades six through 12 present history-themed projects in a variety of formats – including museum-style exhibits, research papers, web sites, documentaries and live performances.
About 7,000 Tennessee students participated in competitions held at their schools this year. The students judged best in those competitions advanced to one of six regional events held around the state. The winners from the regionals advanced to the statewide competition, which was held at various locations in downtown Nashville.
The first- and second-place finishers at the statewide competition are now eligible to participate in National History Day, which will be held on the campus of the University of Maryland June 9-13.
“I congratulate all of the Tennessee History Day contestants,” Secretary of State Tre Hargett said. “I know that those who will be advancing to the national finals in Maryland will represent our state well. And all the contestants will benefit from having participated in History Day. Not only have they learned more about the historical topics that they researched, but they have demonstrated their creativity, organization and critical thinking skills they will need as they continue through school and later in their careers. Also, research has shown that History Day alumni are more likely to be better informed and more engaged citizens after they reach adulthood, which is good for our state.”
Tennessee History Day coordinator Jennifer C. Core said, "For students, History Day is a chance to explore a time period in depth. For teachers, History Day represents hands-on, project-based learning. For families and the community, History Day is a chance to celebrate what is best about our young people. We continue to see growth in all areas of the state. In 2013, we had 458 students qualify for the state competition.”
The judges at Saturday’s competition – who included university professors, graduate students, high school teachers, librarians, archivists and other public historians – picked the winners from the 207 projects submitted.
Tennessee History Day was coordinated by the Tennessee Historical Society, with sponsorship provided by the Tennessee Department of State, Humanities Tennessee, the Middle Tennessee State University Center for Historic Preservation and the Library of Congress.
Since 1974, History Day has grown from a small local competition in Cleveland, Ohio with about 100 students into an event that attracts about a half million students nationwide each year.
For more information about the program in Tennessee, visit www.historyday.org or contact Jennifer Core, History Day’s statewide coordinator, at 615 741-8934 or via e-mail at historyday@tennesseehistory.org.
Saturday’s Winners Were:
SENIOR INDIVIDUAL DOCUMENTARY:
Third Place
Title: War in the Valley: TVA and Hydropower in the Arsenal of Democracy
Student: Colton Petty
School: McCallie School, Chattanooga, TN
Teacher: Duke Richey
Second Place
Title: Out of the Darkness: REA's Impact on Rural America
Student: Caley Williamson
School: Cosby High School, Cosby, TN
Teacher: Hillery Griffin
First Place
Title: Mountains, Music and Money: Dolly Parton's Turning Point Impacts Appalachia
Student: Emma Grace Thompson
School: Berean Christian School ISP, Knoxville, TN
Teacher: Sharron Thompson
JUNIOR INDIVIDUAL DOCUMENTARY:
Third Place
Title: The Manhattan Project: A Turning Point for War and Nuclear Science
Student: Rachel Anderson
School: Greenway School, Knoxville, TN
Teachers: Lynne Mullins, Stephanie Dempsey
Second Place
Title: Dr. May Cravath Wharton: Reshaping Medicine on Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau
Student: William Seth Eckelson
School: Pine View Elementary, Rockwood, TN
Teacher: Rachel Eckelson
First Place
Title: TVA Initiates a Turning Point for the Tennessee Valley
Student: Meghan Carter
School: Greenway School, Knoxville, TN
Teachers: Stephanie Dempsey, Lynne Mullins
SENIOR GROUP DOCUMENTARY:
Third Place
Title: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Students: Alex Garry, Andrew Wadovick, Amanda Melvin, Rachel Paduck
School: St. Benedict at Auburndale, Cordova, TN
Teacher: Kristen Browning
Second Place
Title: 1982 World's Fair
Students: Justin Stevens, Bruce Boles, Jackson Kilburn, Ben Welsh
School: West High School, Knoxville, TN
Teachers: Carrie Halliburton, Jill Holland
First Place
Title: TVA: Progress Through Resource Development
Students: Hunter Henry, Jonathan Burchnell, Tyler Showman, Patric Vance
School: South Greene High School, Greeneville, TN
Teacher: Noelle Smith
JUNIOR GROUP DOCUMENTARY:
Third Place
Title: Our Daughters in Flame: Child Labor Reform
Students: Annie Dong, Regan Caruthers
School: Northwest Middle School, Knoxville, TN
Teacher: Chris Standridge
Second Place
Title: Wilma Rudolph Takes Gold: A Turning Point in Women's and African American Athletics
Students: Kalie McClain, Alex Myers
School: Northeast Middle School, Clarksville, TN
Teachers: Whitney Joyner, Polly Kopp
First Place
Title: The Cherry Mine Disaster: From Tragedy to Reform
Students: Sarah Gant, Rachel Horton
School: John Early Museum Magnet Middle School, Nashville, TN
Teachers: Katherine Hardwick, Kristina Deal, Tara Mielnik
SENIOR INDIVIDUAL EXHIBIT:
Third Place
Title: The SR-71 Blackbird - A Turning Point in Aviation
Student: Joshua Brennan
School: Lenoir City High School, Lenoir City, TN
Teacher: Rachel Frazier
Second Place
Title: No Quarter: The War Crimes Prosecution of Champ Ferguson
Student: Chris Justice
School: Sevier County High School, Sevierville, TN
Teacher: Rebecca Byrd
First Place
Title: Cordell Hull and the Founding of the United Nations
Student: Jacob Taylor
School: Teach Homeschool Cooperative, Greeneville, TN
Teacher: Ramona Taylor
JUNIOR INDIVIDUAL EXHIBIT:
Third Place
Title: Doolittle's Raid
Student: Caleb White
School: Siegel Middle School, Murfreesboro, TN
Teacher: Heather Warmuth Harris
Second Place
Title: The Cutter Incident: A Turning Point in Vaccine Manufacturing
Student: Josey Marston
School: Siegel Middle School, Murfreesboro, TN
Teacher: Heather Warmuth Harris
First Place
Title: The Interstate Highway Act of 1956: Paving the Way to Modern Freeways
Student: Scott Moore
School: Northeast Middle School, Clarksville, TN
Teachers: Whitney Joyner, Polly Kopp
SENIOR GROUP EXHIBIT:
Third Place
Title: “Ornament or Worker?” A Turning Point for Women in the Victorian Era
Students: Anita Pershad, Sarah Younes
School: Lausanne Collegiate School, Memphis, TN
Teacher: Scott Johnson
Second Place
Title: Helen Keller: Life Without Limits
Students: Quinn Curtis, Haven Poore, Naomi Derksen
School: Independence High School, Thompsons Station, TN
Teacher: Mike Ragland
First Place
Title: Einstein-Szilard Letter: Re-writing the Course of History
Students: Noah Dunlap, Justin Cross, Jeremiah Branson
School: L & N Stem Academy, Knoxville, TN
Teacher: Jill Robbins
JUNIOR GROUP EXHIBIT:
Third Place
Title: 5, 4, 3, 2 ,1... Apollo to the Moon
Students: Swati Kinger, Reethu Krishnan
School: Lausanne Collegiate School, Memphis, TN
Teacher: Catherine Hammons
Second Place
Title: Jackie Robinson Hits a Grand Slam for Civil Rights
Students: Tyler Hayes, Macklin Stephenson, Sean Purcell
School: St. John Neumann School, Knoxville, TN
Teacher: Michele Tarricone
First Place
Title: Starving for Integration: The Nashville Sit-Ins
Students: Katie Conner, Rennison Kelley, Kennedy Parham, Jaqurion Scales, Madison Edwards
School: Northeast Middle School, Clarksville, TN
Teachers: Whitney Joyner, Polly Kopp
SENIOR INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE:
Third Place
Title: Joan of Arc: A Light for the Hundred Years War
Student: Megan Stollenmaier
School: South Greene High School, Greeneville, TN
Teacher: Noelle Smith
Second Place
Title: The Civil War
Student: Caleb Rittenhouse
School: Lenoir City High School, Lenoir City, TN
Teacher: Rachel Frazier
First Place
Title: Z.C. Patten: Union Veterans and Rebirth in the New South
Student: Jameson Barnes
School: McCallie School, Chattanooga, TN
Teacher: Duke Richey
JUNIOR INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE:
Third Place
Title: Widening Women's World: Nellie Bly, The Ultimate Reporter
Student: Emma Hawkins
School: Siegel Middle School, Murfreesboro, TN
Teacher: Heather Warmuth Harris
Second Place
Title: TVA: A Turning Point for East Tennessee
Student: Jake Green
School: Greenway School, Knoxville, TN
Teacher: Lynne Mullins
First Place
Title: Too Strong to Curtsy: Men Trying to Rain on Our Parade
Student: Gavin Berlyak
School: Northeast Middle School, Clarksville, TN
Teachers: Whitney Joyner, Polly Kopp
SENIOR GROUP PERFORMANCE:
Third Place
Title: Jackie Robinson
Students: Jaylon Smith, Alex Walker, Kevin Mwaura, Chase Dupree-Davis, Jontae Perrin
School: L & N Stem Academy, Knoxville, TN
Teacher: Jill Robbins
Second Place
Title: From Frills and Frocks to Zoot Suits and Parachutes: The WASPs of WW II
Students: Keya Patel, Lily Joiner, Katelyn Mitchell
School: Northeast High School, Clarksville, TN
Teachers: Whitney Joyner, Polly Kopp
First Place
Title: A Vindicated Life: A Conversation with Mary Wollstonecraft
Students: Kaelyn Stewart, Shelby Standridge
School: South Greene High School, Greeneville, TN
Teacher: Noelle Smith
JUNIOR GROUP PERFORMANCE:
Third Place
Title: The Boston Tea Party
Students: Nadine Mohammad, Taliah Muhammad, Khadijah Darboe
School: Pleasant View School, Memphis, TN
Teacher: Sharayah Peterson
Second Place
Title: The Manhattan Project and the First Atomic Bomb
Students: Allyson Neal, Tyler Beichler
School: First Baptist Academy, Powell, TN
Teacher: Darrell Vandergriff
First Place
Title: Blacks in Blue
Students: Ahmad Thomas, Samuel Newell
School: West Creek Middle School, Clarksville, TN
Teacher: Michael Cleghorn
SENIOR INDIVIDUAL WEBSITE:
Third Place
Title: The East Tennessee Campaign
Student: Griffin Hamstead
School: West High School, Knoxville, TN
Teachers: Carrie Halliburton, Jill Holland
Second Place
Title: The 1979 Sermon: Jimmy Carter and the Crisis of Confidence
Student: Jean Coupe
School: McCallie School, Chattanooga, TN
Teacher: Duke Richey
First Place
Title: The Berlin Conference: The Division and Exploitation of the African Continent
Student: McKenzie Ratner
School: Farragut High School, Knoxville, TN
Teacher: Angela Breeding
JUNIOR INDIVIDUAL WEBSITE:
Third Place
Title: The Cuban Missile Crisis: The End of Innocence
Student: Katie Kirkland
School: Vonore Middle School, Vonore, TN
Teacher: Joan McFall
Second Place
Title: Historic HeLa
Student: Tejas Manohar
School: Sunset Middle School, Brentwood, TN
Teacher: Christopher Harrod
First Place
Title: Fingerprints and Vucetich: A Turning Point in Criminology
Student: Joy Marshall
School: Homeschool, Knoxville, TN
Teacher: Laura Marshall
SENIOR GROUP WEBSITE:
Third Place
Title: The Model T: A Turning Point
Students: Matthew Sena, Olivia Parsels, Laura Meagher, Theresa Stoddard, Madeline Mahon
School: St. Benedict at Auburndale, Cordova, TN
Teacher: Kristen Browning
Second Place
Title: "You Can't Murder a Legacy" Benazir Bhutto's Career: A Turning Point for Women's Rights in Pakistan
Students: Ali Ottinger, Brinda Patel, Alexus Fraser, Leya Guoto, Rickelle Henry
School: Lausanne Collegiate School, Memphis, TN
Teacher: Scott Johnson
First Place
Title: Clair Patterson
Students: Margaux Armfield, Brenna Armfield
School: West High School, Knoxville, TN
Teachers: Carrie Halliburton, Jill Holland
JUNIOR GROUP WEBSITE:
Third Place
Title: The Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator
Students: Vinila Baljepally, Sarah Balsley, Marisa Medina
School: West Valley Middle School, Knoxville, TN
Teacher: Karen Peterman
Second Place
Title: Operation Cyclone
Students: Maryam Yousuf, Kiran Mehrani
School: Meigs Magnet Middle School, Nashville, TN
Teacher: Jamie Schimenti
First Place
Title: Remembering the Birmingham Bombing: How the 1963 Blast Energized the Civil Rights Movement
Students: Marlo Black, Haley Limbaugh
School: Siegel Middle School, Murfreesboro, TN
Teacher: Heather Warmuth Harris
SENIOR INDIVIDUAL PAPER:
Third Place
Title: The Ripple Effects of Rationing: the Turning Point of American Nutrition
Student: Hannah Heitz
School: University School Of Nashville, Nashville, TN
Teacher: Patricia Miletich
Second Place
Title: America from A to Z: Webster, the Dictionary, and Defining National Identity
Student: David Doochin
School: University School Of Nashville, Nashville, TN
Teacher: Erskine White
First Place
Title: Turning Points in the History of the Palestinian Movement
Student: Areej Malley
School: Pleasant View School, Memphis, TN
Teacher: Calvin Shaw
JUNIOR INDIVIDUAL PAPER:
Third Place
Title: Menlo Park's Invention: From Darkness to Illumination
Student: Britney Pepper
School: St. George's Independent School, Collierville, Collierville, TN
Teacher: Traci Erlandson
Second Place
Title: Out of Need Came Necessity Oak Ridge a Turning Point in World War II
Student: Savannah Swanger
School: Wartburg Central Middle School, Wartburg, TN
Teachers: Debbie Slack, Travis Gosnell
First Place
Title: The 1956 Suez Crisis: Turning Point in British Imperial History and Middle East Global Politics
Student: Ibtihal Malley
School: Pleasant View School, Memphis, TN
Teacher: Sharayah Peterson
SPECIAL AWARD WINNERS
Dr. Sam B. Smith Award:
Title: Turning Points in the History of the Palestinian Movement
Student: Areej Malley
School: Pleasant View School, Memphis, TN
Teacher: Calvin Shaw
Dr. Ruben Brooks Award:
Title: The 1956 Suez Crisis: Turning Point in British Imperial History and Middle East Global Politics
Student: Ibtihal Malley
School: Pleasant View School, Memphis, TN
Teacher: Sharayah Peterson
Margaret Lindsley Warden Prizes for Best Projects in Women's History:
Title: A Vindicated Life: A Conversation with Mary Wollstonecraft
Students: Kaelyn Stewart, Shelby Standridge
School: South Greene High School, Greeneville, TN
Teacher: Noelle Smith
Title: Too Strong to Curtsy: Men Trying to Rain on Our Parade
Student: Gavin Berlyak
School: Northeast Middle School, Clarksville, TN
Teachers: Whitney Joyner, Polly Kopp
Sequoyah Award:
Title: Renewed Spirit for the Nation: The Battle of Little Big Horn
Students: Danielle Cain, Jaden Allman, Jeb Best, Hannah Fiorucci
School: Rural Vale Elementary, Tellico Plains, TN
Teacher: Traci Freeman
Society of Tennessee Archivists Awards for Archival Research:
Title: Cordell Hull and the Founding of the United Nations
Student: Jacob Taylor
School: Teach Homeschool Cooperative, Greeneville, TN
Teacher: Ramona Taylor
Title: The Flooding of Old Concord: A Turning Point in History
Student: Josh Martin
School: Concord Christian School, Knoxville, TN
Teacher: Tammy Lightholder
Tennessee Historical Society Prizes for Best Projects in Tennessee History:
Title: Mountains, Music and Money: Dolly Parton's Turning Point Impacts Appalachia
Student: Emma Grace Thompson
School: Berean Christian School ISP, Knoxville, TN
Teacher: Sharron Thompson
Title: Starving for Integration: The Nashville Sit-Ins
Students: Katie Conner, Rennison Kelley, Kennedy Parham, Jaqurion Scales, Madison Edwards
School: Northeast Middle School, Clarksville, TN
Teachers: Whitney Joyner, Polly Kopp
Tennessee Historical Society Prizes for the Best Projects in African-American History:
Title: Claudette Colvin: An Unknown Turning Point for Equality
Student: Lacharsha Ward
School: Hillwood Comp High School, Nashville, TN
Teachers: Katherine Hardwick, Kristina Deal, Tara Mielnik
Title: Wilma Rudolph Takes Gold: A Turning Point in Women's and African American Athletics
Students: Kalie McClain, Alex Myers
School: Northeast Middle School, Clarksville, TN
Teachers: Whitney Joyner, Polly Kopp
The Company of Military Historians Awards for the Best Projects in Military History:
Title: Chattanooga: The Turning Point of the American Civil War
Student: Sarah Lucas
School: Webb School of Knoxville, Knoxville, TN
Teachers: Cindy Meyer, Mark Banker
Title: Blacks in Blue
Students: Ahmad Thomas, Samuel Newell
School: West Creek Middle School, Clarksville, TN
Teacher: Michael Cleghorn
TEACHERS OF THE YEAR:
Whitney Joyner
School: Northeast Middle School, Clarksville, TN
Noelle Smith
School: South Greene High School, Greeneville, TN