Story by student reporter Cassandra Buckman
In an annual competition, Thomas County Central High School students took a stand for some of history’s most inspiring and impactful individuals and events.
Students in world and U.S. history classes participated in the National History Day competition on Feb. 9. Advisor Christine Patton said this year’s school competition went well and there were high expectations for the projects. “Our local judges had high expectations and only advanced the best projects to the next level,” Patton said.
Winning projects had to include a solid thesis and sufficient research/evidence to support it. The two overall school winners were Megan Curry and Gabriella Hough, who completed a project together. Their group performance was on Deborah Sampson, a woman who dressed like a man to fight in the Revolutionary War.
Curry and Hough said they support feminism and the military. Curry thinks one reason their project stood out is the subject: Sampson was a woman in the military during a time when this was “terribly uncommon.” This year’s theme is “Taking a Stand in History.” The theme focuses on a leader or event that had significant impact on history, whether it was negative or positive. TCCHS topics varied, and each participant had an unique reason for why they chose a certain subject or individual. “I chose my topic because once I began researching Muhammad Ali, I found him appealing based on his confidence,” first place winner in individual exhibits Christin Connelly said. “Some key points in my topic were that Ali was not bashful about his beliefs and he wanted to be heard.”
Since no other high schools in this area compete in NHD, the school level is also considered region contest, which means 19 TCCHS winners advance to state level competition, to be held at Mercer University on April 22. Students have the ability to revise and edit their projects in order to satisfy the judges in the next level of competition. “Students now have the opportunity to use judges’ comments and advice to strengthen their projects,” Patton said. “They will add more analysis, more primary documentation, and clean up any issues that the judges may have found confusing or incorrect.” Connelly plans to “improve” her board and have “stronger research” in order to assist her in the next round of competition. “To prepare for the next tier of competition, we, my partner Kennedy Ward and I, will make our documentary better,” first place winner in group documentaries Brooklyn Reese said. “We will brush up on our vocals, as well as make our video better.” Reese and Ward, to further their improvements, will “edit our video to make it more professional, add to our bibliographical information, and our paperwork.”
Patton is optimistic about TCCHS students’ chances to continue to advance in NHD competition. “This is our fourth year of NHD participation, and in that time we have gained a reputation as a top contender in the state, with winners that move on to the national competition,” she said. “Hopefully, our students will continue that tradition again this year.”
TCCHS NHD Winners:
GROUP EXHIBITS
1st: Cynthia Ramos and Kayla Moore
2nd: Yunuen Medina and Christian Cohen
3rd: Vince Wynn and Eli Kosciw
INDIVIDUAL EXHIBITS
1st: Christin Connelly
2nd: Emily Johnson
GROUP WEBSITES
1st: Emma and Zach Goff
INDIVIDUAL WEBSITES
1st: Mary Beth Wise
2nd: Ann Guo
3rd: Mackenzie Sellers
GROUP DOCUMENTARIES
1st: Brooklyn Reese and Kennedy Ward
INDIVIDUAL DOCUMENTARIES
1st: Joshua Stephens
GROUP PERFORMANCES
1st: Megan Curry and Gabriella Hough
HISTORICAL PAPERS
HM: Tamia Favors