History continues to motivate young minds at Thomas County Central High School.

Eighteen projects and 28 students from TCCHS are advancing to National History Day State Competition. These projects qualified after students placed first, second or third in the region competition held Friday, Feb. 27.

“TCCHS students did an awesome job at the region contest,” Christine Patton, TCCHS Social Studies teacher and NHD coordinator said. “We brought home 18 out of 23 awards.”

Steven Tran, whose group placed first in “Group Documentaries,” enjoyed region competition.

“The competition is fun if you are into history,” he said. “It takes some dedication to finish (a project), but it is worth it once you know you are getting through the competition.”

Kelly Quintiana’s group placed first in “Group Exhibits.” She and partner Gabby Schminky chose Adolf Hitler.

“We were very excited that we could go from third at the school to first at the regional competition,” she said. “We are nervous about state, but we are looking forward to seeing the outcome.”

Now, students advancing to the next level of competition will have a little more than a month “to revise their projects” in order to compete at state, which will be held in April at Mercer University, Patton said.

“I’m really excited about moving on to state,” Mikayla Jordan, who placed second in “Individual Website,” said. “It’s a really cool experience and it’s a great opportunity to learn some interesting things about history.”

National History Day Region Competition Winners from TCCHS

GROUP EXHIBITS

1^st:  Gabby Schminky, Kelly Quintiana

2^nd: Drew Lloyd, Tori Stringer, Natalie Wyatt

INDIVIDUAL EXHIBITS

1^st: Hailee Wilder

3^rd: Madison Everett

GROUP WEBSITES

1^st: Micah Dodson, Riley Jones

3^rd: Jonathan Castillo, Baily Williams

INDIVIDUAL WEBSITES

1^st: Kenlie Harvey

2^nd: Mikayla Jordan

3^rd: Brooke Taylor

GROUP DOCUMENTARIES

1^st: Eli Kosciw, Lillie Horton, Steven Tran

2^nd: Sanny Patel, Shivani Patel

INDIVIDUAL DOCUMENTARIES

1^st: Kyle Clark

2^nd: Alan Brinn

3^rd: Ashley Thomas

GROUP PERFORMANCES

1^st: Marion Rose Young, Kennedy Ward

2^nd: Elena Love, Gretchen Turnbull

HISTORICAL PAPERS

1^st: Brody Smith

3^rd: Tony Mathews