Huntington Wins Gold in History Day State Finals
It was a long journey north that ended with gold medals for Brielle Blatt, Samantha Palmer and Collin Richardson. The three Huntington High School students captured first place honors in the National History Day state finals in Cooperstown.
Mr. Richardson won the individual website category for his work on child labor and Ms. Blatt and Ms. Palmer won the group exhibit competition for their research on Robert Moses. All three students will now advance to the national championship next month on the University of Maryland at College Park campus.
"I am beyond excited for Collin, Brielle and Samantha," said Lauren Desiderio, a Huntington social studies teacher and the school's National History Day club advisor. "They have worked countless hours painstakingly examining and analyzing historical research while perfecting their projects in preparation for the state competition at Cooperstown. It was a wonderful feeling to see their hard work recognized as the best in the entire state!"
The Huntington trio qualified for the state finals after winning local honors and then taking first place in the Long Island regional competition at Hofstra. "The whole experience in Cooperstown was absolutely incredible," Ms. Blatt said. "There was such a high level of talent in all of the other projects in our category. Sam and I were unsure of how the results would unfold. The feeling of being able to move on to the national level left us in awe."
"New York State, and Long Island in particular, has a history of producing some of the most competitive National History Day projects in the nation and Huntington High School has now joined their ranks," Mrs. Desiderio said. "I couldn't be more proud of our students!"
"National History Day has been a great experience," Mr. Richardson said. "I enjoyed seeing the work of other students at the state competition, not to mention the several museums in Cooperstown. This competition has taught me much about several aspects of history and I look forward to representing New York in the national competition."
In addition to the gold medalists, Huntington's Cooperstown participants included students Holly Blakley and Justin LoScalzo in the group documentary category with their entry, "Eugenics" and Thomas Kouttron in the historical paper category for his work, "Dred Scott and the Interpretation of the Constitution."
The Huntington contingent toured the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Fenimore Museum and the Farmer's Museum as part of their NHD experience. "It was really amazing to not only be able to tour Cooperstown but also to enjoy the extraordinary projects that were produced by the students," Mrs. Desiderio said.
"It has been my dream ever since I began the NHD experience, as a sophomore in Mrs. Desidero's class, to compete in the nationals," Ms. Blatt said. "Mrs. Desiderio has helped me grow as a student and was my mentor throughout this whole experience. Sam and I have had such passion for our project for the past six months. We even nicknamed it 'Robby' in honor of Robert Moses. I am so excited to compete in the nationals. Maryland here we come!"
Participating in the state finals was "a fulfilling experience" for Ms. Palmer. "It felt great to teach the judges about our topic; something they claimed 'they didn't know much about,' she said. "The high level of competition left Brielle and I in a state shock after hearing that we won first place. The thought of competing at nationals has left us on a 'Robert Moses high.' We are looking forward to improving our exhibit and meeting people from across the nation [at the finals in Maryland]."
Joseph Leavy, Huntington's director of humanities, said he's "proud of the work of the students and Mrs. Desiderio, as well as all the teachers and students who have participated this year and in past years, as the program has grown tremendously."
Seeing three Huntington students win gold medals was especially satisfying for Mrs. Desiderio, who twice participated in the national finals at Maryland while she was a high school student.
"I am very excited for the students as they will get to experience and tour the University of Maryland while also meeting students from across all 50 states and some U.S. territories," Mrs. Desiderio said. "It really is an amazing experience as NHD puts together a great set of events for the students, such as a welcome ceremony, student dance, National History Night reception at the National Museum of American History and a concluding awards ceremony. They will also have the opportunity to apply for several national scholarships."
The NHD organization recently conducted a national analysis of their program and found that "students who participate in the program perform better on high-stakes tests, are better writers, more confident and capable researchers and have a more mature perspective on current events and civic engagement than their peers. Participants also show a greater ability to collaborate with peers, manage their time and persevere – all skills employers say are lacking in today's workforce."