Historical events and persons who have contributed to present day culture came to life once more during the first leg of an annual academic competition.
Thomas County Central High School held its National History Day competition on Tuesday, Feb. 9. More than 20 students placed or were awarded honorable mentions (see box). Of these, 20 will advance to state competition.
“TCCHS has gained a reputation of succeeding at both the state and national level,” NHD sponsor and World History teacher Christine Patton said. “This year’s entries seem poised to continue that tradition.”
This year’s theme is “Exploration, Encounter, and Exchange.” Students competed and placed in categories including Group Exhibits, Individual Exhibits, Group Websites, Individual Websites, Group Documentaries, Individual Documentaries, Individual Performances, and Historical Papers.
Freshman Brooklyn Reese was the overall school winner and placed first in Individual Exhibits for her project on Dickey Chapelle, a female war photojournalist. Reese is interested in a journalism career and researched World War II journalists who reported on D-Day.
“She was less known and I thought more people should know about Chapelle,” Reese said. “She lived an amazing life and tried to show people the horrors of war.”
Sophomores Sierra Stephens and Kennedy Ward placed first in Group Documentary.
“Our topic was the USO (United Service Organizations), and Kennedy is part of a military family so she has personal and familial experience with the USO,” Stephens said. “My grandparents and some other family also have military experience, so we know the importance of the USO to our military.”
Sophomore Kyle Clark earned first place in Individual Websites for his project on Osamu Tezuka, a renowned Japanese manga artist and animator.
“I had been an avid fan of his work for years and felt that his works and morals would translate to this year’s topic,” Clark said. “Tezuka found great inspiration in two distinct cultures, those of the East and West, and this cultural exchange is the foundation on which my project is built.”
Clark used various pages, sketches and animation cells from the myriad of Tezuka’s works. He also checked online databases and other sites for personal photos and info on the artist. He used the website format to “provide a guided and streamlined presentation of the exploration Tezuka spearheaded.”
“Elation is the only term that can describe how I feel moving on this year,” Clark said. “The experience I had last year at the state competition was fantastic. Now I am on my way to go there once more, presenting my hard work and sharing the work of Tezuka to some of the most gifted students in the state. I’m ready to go and excited for the times to come.”
Projects were judged by retired educators, business people, and other history professionals.
Amelia Gallo, an educator for the Thomas County Historical Society and Museum of History, served as a judge. She looked for a variety of research materials included in the projects, “particularly primary sources that provide first-hand accounts of historical events.”
“Successful projects contain an argument, analysis of evidence, and a strong answer to the ‘so what’ question, how has this impacted our lives or understanding today,” Gallo said.
The projects that stood out to her were the ones who held “strong analysis and a strong thesis statement which introduced us to new and unfamiliar topics.”
“There were some great projects this year on a variety of topics,” she said. “Student creativity in topic selection made for an interesting competition.”
David Mattox, a former NHD competitor, also judged the competition. He looked for “whether or not it (the board) caught my eye” and the information presented on each board.
“The boards need to convey why I care about this event in history,” Mattox said.
He enjoyed the projects who introduced him to personally unknown historical figures and events.
“The most interesting projects were ones that I had no idea about,” Mattox said. “I knew I would see Christopher Columbus and Lewis and Clark, but there were many that I had no idea about.”
The state NHD competition will be held in late April at Mercer University.
“We are ecstatic about returning to the state competition,” returning participant Kennedy Ward said. “It is always a great honor to have the opportunity to advance to compete against the best projects in the state. The information you learn while researching, as well as at competition, becomes a great tool to further your knowledge and provide new perspectives on the things we talk about in and outside of school.”
2016 TCCHS National History Day Winners
Overall School Winner
Brooklyn Reese
GROUP EXHIBITS
1st: Kelsie Shoup, Kayla Shoup
Honorable Mention (HM): Chelsey Lawler, Cheyenne Little
INDIVIDUAL EXHIBITS
1st: Brooklyn Reese
2nd: Cynthia Ramon
3rd: Katelyn Hancock
HM: Landon Trotter
HM: Taylor Hester
HM: Gabby Schminky
GROUP WEBSITES
1st: Briana Parker, Jonathan Castillo
2nd: Ryan Fitzgerald, Chase Darley
INDIVIDUAL WEBSITES
1st: Kyle Clark
2nd: Ashlan Layton
3rd: Ann Guo
GROUP DOCUMENTARIES
1st: Kennedy Ward, Sierra Stephens
2nd: Eli Kosciw, Steven Tran, Nick Cooper, Daniel Winchester
3rd: Sanny Patel, Riley Jones
INDIVIDUAL DOCUMENTARIES
HM: Anna Beth Raffield
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
1st: Gretchen Turnbull
HISTORICAL PAPERS
HM: Kaylyn Durwin