Huntington Students Bring History Alive at Annual Competition
The study of history is anything but a stuffy old pursuit for Huntington High School students. To the contrary, a group of more than a hundred teenagers showed their love for history, and even some flashes of dramatic flair, at the annual National History Day competition.
The event saw students competing against each other in categories ranging from live theatrical performances and group documentaries to historical papers and individual and group exhibits all adhering to the national theme, “Conflict and Compromise.”
A large crowd consisting of family, friends and school officials packed the School Heritage Museum for this year’s event, which is coordinated by Huntington’s National History Day club headed by advisor and social studies teacher Camille Tedeschi and student-officers Laura Dabrowski (president), Madeleine Jensen (vice president), Shannon Connors (secretary) and Henry Baughman (treasurer).
Ms. Tedeschi’s department colleagues, James Graber and Caitlin Lambert also helped guide participating students, who submitted some very impressive work. "We are very proud of the accomplishments of these students whose efforts were inspired by their teachers, Ms. Tedeschi, Mr. Graber and Ms. Lambert," said Joseph Leavy, director of humanities.
The top finishers in each category will now advance to the regional competition slated for Sunday, March 2 at Hofstra University. There they will battle with students from other Long Island high schools to qualify for the state finals later this spring. The national championship will follow.
“The Heritage Room was packed with parents and students,” Principal Carmela Leonardi said. “It was wonderful to see parents and students from Finley being a part of this experience. Ms. Tedeschi needs to be congratulated for her skills and dedication to this very meaningful event. The displays, performance and video shared during the presentation were outstanding.”
Participants spent dozens of hours creating their projects, with most working late into the night and over weekends. Parents of students in grades 6-8 have been vocal in expressing the hope that the National History Day program will expand among younger students. “That is one of our goals,” Mr. Leavy said. The History Day club meets in the high school library on Monday’s at 3 p.m.
The top finishers in each category included:
Individual Documentary
1. Anthony Kouttron
2. Dylan Tuozzo
3. Brian Gershowitz
Group Documentary
1. Ally Kiley, Michelle Byrne, Mary-Liz O’Neill
2. Kelly Wilbur, Virginia Ramirez
3. Anna Harris, Connor Davis
Individual Exhibit
1. Jack Castelli
2. Olivia Weller
3. Carolyn Fante
Group Exhibit
1. Aliyah Cohen, Mia Rienzo
2. Tom Corrao,Tyler Moore
3. Danielle Cerezo, Rebecca Deegan, Jonah Kramer
Group Performance
1. Caitlin Etri, Kirsten Freiman, Rebecca Silverman, Colleen Teubner
Historical Paper
1. Jeff Bishop
2. Matt Bishop
3. Erin McGoldrick
With the advent of a new Long Island History course next year, Mr. Leavy said organizers of the event intend to return to presenting the Jack Abrams Award, which has been given for exceptional local historical research. The names of past honorees are permanently engraved in a plaque that hangs in the school lobby honoring recipients. Mr. Abrams, who retired more than 20 years ago as a district principal, is the School Heritage Museum’s founder and curator.
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