Massachusetts Students at National History Day

On June 10^th, 64 middle and high school students from 25 different Massachusetts schools set out to the University of Maryland, College Park for the 2018 NHD National Contest. There they joined a group of over 3,000 students representing all fifty United States, Washington, D.C., Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and international schools in China, Korea, and South Asia.  Once at College Park, they spent the week presenting the history projects they’ve worked on all year, traded state pins and stories with students from around the world, and shared in the incredible experience that is National History Day.

Students bring pins from their state to National History Day, which they trade during the week. The goal is to collect every state and territory!

The annual National History Day contest serves as the final stage for a series of smaller NHD contests at the local and state/affiliate levels. There, students who have spent the year working on primary source-based research papers, exhibits, performances, documentaries, and websites and have made it through local, regional, and state contests compete against hundreds of other national and international projects. Massachusetts prize-winning projects explored this year’s theme of “Conflict and Compromise” through topics and historical figures including Deborah Sampson, the Treaty of Portsmouth, The Philippine-American War, Desmond Doss, and the Civilian Public Service.

Students visited the Lincoln Memorial during their D. C. Monuments Tour.

During their four day stay in College Park, students experienced life on a college campus, staying in dorms and eating in the school dining halls with students from around the world.  They viewed the exhibits and performances of other students and explained their own topics of research to new friends.  They also participated in a variety of activities with their Massachusetts cohort, including a monument tour of D.C., a trip to the National Zoo, and a Red Sox-Orioles baseball game at Camden Yards.  Finally, on the last day they participated in a massive parade and award ceremony in the UMD Stadium.

The MA students are wearing blue t-shirts with our tricorn hat logo on them.

The Massachusetts Historical Society is incredibly proud to recognize the following winners from the 2018 National Competition:

First Place - Senior Group Website

Tucker Apgar, Lily Ting, Sean Li

"'By Winter We Will Know Everything': The Prague Spring and Conflict over Control"

 Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School, Wenham MA

Outstanding Junior Entry from Massachusetts - Junior Paper

Heather Anderson

“The Penny War: How Children Fought to Compromise with Millionaires”

Hanscom Middle School, Lincoln MA

Outstanding Senior Entry from Massachusetts - Senior Group Website

Zijian Niu, Robert Sucholeiki

"The Geneva Accords: The Compromise That Sparked the Vietnam War”

Winchester High School, Winchester MA

We’d also like to extend a special shout out to William Sutton of Hingham High School for his selection as the Legacy Award nominee for Massachusetts, and to Massachusetts students who made it into the top ten finalists at NHD 2018: Angela McKenzie (Stoneham HS), Ben Franco and Massimo Mitchell (Applewild School), Nora Sullivan Horner (Hamilton Wenham HS), Arda Cataltepe (Weston HS), Robert Sucholeiki and Zijian Niu (Winchester HS), and Heather Anderson (Hanscom MS). Congratulations to all of our student historians!

If you are interested in learning more about NHD or joining us as a teacher, student, or judge for Massachusetts History Day 2018, please visit our website at www.masshistoryday.com.