Four Hamilton County students who placed first or second in their categories at this year’s Tennessee History Day contest will represent Tennessee at National History Day competition beginning June 12.
After competing in regional contests across the state, 241 students advanced to this year’s Tennessee History Day competition, held the first two weeks of April. At Tennessee History Day, 102 students representing 26 schools in 12 counties earned recognition. Ninety-three students earned first, second and third place medals, 23 students were awarded special prizes and two educators were recognized as Educators of the Year.
The Hamilton County students advancing to the National History Day competition are:
1st Place Senior Individual Performance
Project: Songs of Diplomacy: The Jazz Ambassadors
Student: Ricardo Wang-Polendo
School: McCallie School
Educator: Duke Richey
1st Place Senior Individual Paper
Project: Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo: Diplomatically Dismantling State Terrorism
Student: Sullivan Smith
School: Chattanooga School for Arts and Sciences Upper School
Educator: Kelly Davis
2nd Place Senior Individual Performance & Best Project in African American History - Sponsored by the Planning Committee for the Nashville Conference on African American History and Culture - Senior Division Winner
Project: Watch What You Call Me
Student: Kameron Hayes
School: McCallie School
Educator: Duke Richey
2nd Place Senior Individual Paper
Project: “Give me your tired, your poor…”? The Debate Regarding Jewish Holocaust Refugees to the United States
Student: Cotton Snoddy
School: McCallie School
Educator: Duke Richey
These Hamilton County students also earned awards at the Tennessee History Day competition:
3rd Place Senior Individual Exhibit
Project: The Death that Divided the Nation
Student: Jonathan Manta
School: McCallie School
Educator: Duke Richey
3rd Place Senior Group Exhibit
Project: The Grey Wolf; The Reintroduction of an Apex Predator and the Ecology of Yellowstone
Students: David Moseley and Gordon Moseley
School: McCallie School
Educator: Duke Richey
3rd Place Senior Individual Website
Project: Ping-Pong Diplomacy: How a Sport Softened United Sates-China Relations
Student: Colin Carter
School: McCallie School
Educator: Duke Richey
Best Project in Tennessee History - Sponsored by Humanities Tennessee - Senior Division Winner - Senior Group Documentary
Project: The Trial of the Century
Students: Anay Patel and Noah Wyatt
School: Chattanooga School for Arts and Sciences Upper School
Educator: Kelly Davis
Mitchell Mielnik Memorial Prize for the Best Project in Sports, Recreation or the Environment - Sponsored by the Family and Friends of Mitchell Mielnik - Senior Division Winner - Senior Individual Website
Project: The Battle for Blue Lake: The Taos Pueblo’s Unparalleled Victory and a Unique Case in Federal Indian Policy
Student: Sam Baker
School: McCallie School
Educator: Duke Richey
“Congratulations to every student who participated in this year’s Tennessee History Day competition and to the 61 students who are advancing to compete at National History Day,” Secretary of State Tre Hargett said. “I wish you the best of luck at National History Day. I know you will represent our great state well on the national stage."
History Day is a year-long competition in which students in grades six-12 compete by submitting group or individual projects about people and events of historical significance. Each project is in one of five categories: documentaries, exhibits, performances, websites or papers, and relates to this year’s theme, Debate & Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences.
“I am so proud of all of our Tennessee History Day students,” said Tennessee History Day Coordinator Nikki Ward. “We have seen them challenge themselves in the topics they have chosen this year. Their continued dedication to research, analysis and creativity is impressive.”
The National History Day competition hosted virtually by the University of Maryland in College Park, Md., will take place June 12-18. The Tennessee students advancing to the National History Day will compete with students from across the country for prestigious awards and scholarships.
Tennessee History Day is coordinated by the Tennessee Historical Society and sponsored by the Secretary of State, Humanities Tennessee, the Memorial Foundation and the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. For more information about Tennessee History Day, visit tennesseehistory.org/tennessee-history-day/.
For the complete list of 2022 Tennessee History Day winners, visit sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com/s3fs-public/document/2022_Tennessee_History_Day_Winners.pdf.