Yorker Club at LI Regional History Finals
A group of hardworking J. Taylor Finley Middle School students made a splash in this year’s National History Day Long Island regional finals at Hofstra University. The young historians are all members of the school’s rejuvenated Yorker club and spent weeks conducting research and writing advanced papers.
“The boys and girls that created National History Day projects from Finley’s Yorker Club did a remarkable job,” said teacher Esmeralda Tello, who is the club’s faculty advisor. “The students were genuinely passionate about their topics which included “The Small Pox Vaccine,” “The Diesel Engine,” “Anti-Depressants,” “The First Video Game” and “Neon Signs in Marketing.”
Meghan Lawlor, who won the Best in School Award for her historical paper on Edward Jenner and the small pox vaccine, was on a high following the competition.
“My mom and friends gave me a lot of help with my topic,” Ms. Lawlor said while reflecting on her first experience with National History Day. “I visited the library frequently and searched the internet for any valuable information. The regional competition at Hofstra came quickly.”
The Finley group really impressed the school’s teachers and principal, John Amato. “The dedication of the students was tremendous and their determination was relentless,” Ms. Tello said. “More importantly for many students, this was their first experience researching primary documents and historical records and although none made it to the state finals at Cooperstown, the seed of determination to get there has been planted.”
The days leading up to the regional finals were tense at times for the Finley contingent. “The anxiety was killing me and I started to doubt myself,” Ms. Lawlor said. Maybe I should have done more research on the connection between vaccines and autism? Then the awards were handed out. Third place: the Aqueduct, second place the Telescope and first place the…Cell Phone. I can’t say I wasn’t disappointed. Was it all a waste? No. It turns out I did win. I won Best in School for my research project.”
After a multi-year absence, Ms. Tello is fashioning the Yorker Club into an interesting and fun group and members are spreading the word to classmates that they should considering joining, too.
“I am pleased that the program has restarted at Finley, where it all began over 12 years ago with the legendary Katie Boccard and Jean Tuohey, who went to states twice and nationals once for their theatrical performances about ‘Truman and the Atomic Bomb’ (at Finley) and later on ‘Clara Barton’ as juniors at Huntington High School,” said Joseph Leavy, district director of humanities.
The Finley students will retain many memories of their participation in the nationwide history program. “Even though I didn’t get to go to Cooperstown for the state competition, I got to go to Hofstra,” Ms. Lawlor said proudly. “I also learned something; that I am totally doing this again next year, and I will get to Cooperstown.”
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