Huntington Competes in LI National History Day Finals
Some people are astonished to learn that teenagers have a real interest in history, studying past events, conducting in-depth research using a variety of source materials and spending long weeks developing a vehicle to showcase their findings to a demanding panel of judges conducting an exhausting analysis of the work.
A group of Huntington High School students were among nearly 500 teenagers from 32 schools to qualify for the Long Island National History Day regional finals at Hofstra University. The Huntington contingent traveled to the Hempstead campus on a recent Sunday after toiling to perfect their entries.
“These entries demonstrated the high caliber of research and presentation on behalf of the participating students and also speak to the strength of the social studies program on the secondary level in fostering advanced opportunities for student to analyze significant historical events on a collegiate level,” said Joseph Leavy, Huntington’s district director of humanities, who was also recognized at the Hofstra hosted event for 15 years of service to the National History Day community.
The Long Island competition featured some of the best and brightest students from Nassau and Suffolk. The Huntington teenagers more than held their own among this elite group.
“Words cannot describe how proud I am of our students,” said Lauren Desiderio, a Huntington social studies teacher who is the faculty advisor for the school’s National History Day club. “These students have worked tirelessly, some since the summer, to perfect their project and compete in a very competitive competition. I could not be happier for those students that had their work recognized and look forward to continuing the success of our program again next year.”
Huntington’s top place finishers included:
• Madison Biernacki: The Beatles: Breaking Down Barriers –
3rd place Senior Individual Documentary
• Amy Eisen: The Armory Show – 3rd place Senior Historical Research Paper
• Brielle Blatt and Brad Dwyer: The Whaling Industry – 4th place Senior Group Exhibit and Outstanding Local History Award
• Chris Napolitano and Diana Harvey: The Atomic Bomb – Senior Group Exhibit Best in School Award.
Although the experience was at times grueling, the teenagers found it worthwhile. “History day was an amazing experience,” Ms. Biernacki said. “It allowed me to combine my interests and use it in a project that required much hard work. The hard work definitely paid off in the end. It was a very rewarding experience!”
Ms. Blatt was another happy participant. “National History Day taught me so much and I most definitely will be taking part again,” she said. Ms. Blatt’s project partner, Brad Dwyer was in agreement, stating that “the National History Day experience drove me to strive for excellence and adapt a determined and strong work ethic.”
Bianca Iarrobino, Justin Loscalzo and Holly Blakley teamed up to place fifth in the Senior Group Documentary category for their entry: The Assembly Line. “National History Day has challenged me to learn, think and work very hard and it is an experience I hope to take part of in the future,” said Ms. Iarrobino, whose partners concurred.
“History day was a competition that exposed me and my group members to extremely unique and innovative ideas,” Ms. Blakley said. “It was an excellent opportunity to learn about history and gain much experience.”
Mr. Loscalzo indicated his complete agreement with the sentiments expressed by his partners. “National History Day was a long and difficult project, however it has helped me develop new skills and has given me the opportunity to do things I never thought I could do,” he said.
Stefan Drakulich, who entered a historical paper on Nikolas Tesla’s invention of the radio, said: “National History Day brought out a more competitive academic experience in me. All in all, it was a great opportunity to learn more about history and now I have the knowledge, requirements and expectations for next year, which will help me move further in the competition.”
“Our school was well represented and our students’ projects caught the attention of other districts and professionals who sought out both Mr. Leavy and I to recognize and comment on how impressed they were with our students’ hard work,” Mrs. Desiderio said. “The curator of the Whaling Museum in Cold Spring Harbor even left Brielle and Brad their card and along with a comment on how impressed they were with their project. After displaying some of our exceptional exhibits at Huntington High School, Brielle and Brad will be donating their project to have it displayed at the museum!”
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