National History Day
Participation Soars
History in all of its colorful and glorious aspects came to life at last week's National History Day exhibition and competition at Huntington High School. More than 200 students participated in this year's program. An overflow crowd turned out for the awards ceremony held in the School Heritage Museum.
Lauren Desiderio, a social studies at the school and the faculty advisor for the National History Day club coordinated the event along with club co-Presidents Ryan Lader and Kaylyn Johnston, Vice-President Pauline McGlone, Secretary Katie Healy, Treasurer Joshua Morris and Alyson Baker, who serves as the organization's in-house historian.
Students displayed and discussed a variety of research projects in the school cafeteria before the top entries were recognized with awards. One week earlier, panels of faculty members served as judges, carefully reviewing projects before comparing notes and selecting this year's honorees.
"I am extremely proud of our students who embraced this unique academic opportunity with vigor and created some of the most exciting, innovative and creative projects while developing original historical conclusions," Mrs. Desiderio said. "We are very excited to send our award winning entries to the next round of competition and wish them the best of luck!"
The top place finishers will now advance to the Long Island regional finals at Hofstra University on March 10. The state finals are slated for Cooperstown in May and the national championship will be held in June at the University of Maryland at College Park.
"The projects students submitted this year were among the most highly competitive that our judges could remember in recent years, which is a true testament to the hard work, dedication, time and effort our students put into creating these amazing projects," Mrs. Desiderio said.
Students were happy to discuss their research and projects with anyone willing to listen. The award winners were even more excited to receive public recognition and applause from a crowd that included Superintendent James W. Polansky, Principal Carmela Leonardi and Assistant Principal Brenden Cusack.
"Not only does the National History Day program correlate to the Common Core Standards for Literacy, but the organization was also just recognized by President Obama with the National Humanities Medal," said Mrs. Desiderio. "This was the first time ever that a K-12 education program received this prestigious award. All of us who are involved in fostering this renowned program at our school are thankful for all the support we have received from the administration, teachers, and parents all of whom play an important role in our growing program at Huntington High School."
Chairperson of Humanities Joseph Leavy, who brought National History Day into Huntington High School in the 1990's, was clearly pleased with the huge number of projects submitted. "This represents the highest level of participation in this prestigious program than at any other time in the past 15 years," he said.
Participants spent months conducting research for their projects, with some beginning work as long ago as last summer. That remarkable commitment impressed many parents and teachers in the crowd.
The initiative seeks to make history more relevant for students and requires them to use a variety of practical and creative skills during the development of their projects.
The top finishers in each category included:
Senior Division
Historical Paper:
1. The Growth and Transportation of Japan into a Global and Imperial Force: Thomas Kouttron
2. The Industrial Revolution: Andrew Napurano
3. The Removal of the Underpinnings of the Global Economy: Chelsea Holmes
Individual Website:
1. Aviation on Long Island: Rachel Boisclair
2. The Telephone: A New Way to Communicate: Llanira Flores
3. The Enlightenment: Keti Tsotskolauri
Group Website:
1. The Jungle: Exposing the Wild Side of American Industry: Nina Cartwright, Alex Koumas, & Sabrina Palacios
2. Triangle Shirtwaist Fire: Molly Brambil, Megan Healy, & Caitlin Yarbroudy
3. The Destroyer of the Worlds: The Atomic Bomb in the Dawn of the Nuclear Age: Justin Engelsher, Marc Feldman, Brian Gilbert & Brian McConnell
Individual Documentary:
1. Birmingham Campaign: Caroline Berejka
2. D-Day: Allison Berejka
3. Malcolm X: Beth Coneys
Group Documentary:
1. I Love Lucy and Perceptions of Women: Natalie Lanzisero & Emily Maggio
2. The Tuskegee Experiments: Alyson Baker & Emily Saltman
3. Ford Motor Corporation: Dylan DelGuidice & Justin Meyer
Individual Exhibit:
1. The Rise of Japan: Jack Kitzen
2. The Fall of a Prison and the Rise of a Republic: Tommy Dayton
3. The Industrial Revolution: Jack Malone
Group Exhibit:
1. The Kent State Massacre: Gillian Erhman & Olivia Palmer
2. The Silent Era: Moving Pictures Moving Forward: Rachel Carpenter & Lena Scarpulla
3. The Black Death of 14th Century Europe: Heidi Mendez & Jean Miller
Group Performance:
1. Going Steady: A Post-War American Phenomena: Julianna Barca & Gabriella Mandriota
2. Gabrielle Goodridge & Charlotte Levinson
Individual Performance:
1. Bobby Marcus
Special Awards
Best Ancient History Topic:
Leonardo Da Vinci: The Renaissance Man - Jeannie Morgenstern
Best Modern History Topic:
The Scopes Monkey Trial - Aaron Feltman, Caroline McCartney and Latoya Shand
Best Topic in American History Senior Division:
Watergate - Haley Miller and Shannon Smith
Outstanding Entry on Military History:
The Manhattan Project - Sara Totura and Lyndsey Williams
Outstanding Entry on Asian History:
International Adoption in China after 1992 - Annie DeChiaro
Outstanding Entry on the Physical and Life Sciences:
The Discovery of Penicillin - Alex Mandriota and Summer Rudish
Outstanding Entry on Genocide, Bias, or Tolerance:
The Nuremberg Trials: Preparing Humanity to Defend Against Future Genocide - Emily Shutman, Cara Sorrentino and Chelsea Connell
Outstanding Entry on African-American History:
Alvin Ailey: Creator of the Integrated Dance World - Nancy Fallon and Melany Lanham-Ciancia
Outstanding Entry on Women's History:
Marie Curie a "Woman of Firsts" - Katerina DePasquale and Jamie Paragallo
Clio Award: (Rewards innovation and creative excellence)
The End of the Silent Era - Nina Flores and Hannah Lomele
Outstanding Entry on Presidential History:
How One Bullet Changed the Course of History - Kylie Palmer and Marygrace Trousdell
Jack Abrams Local History Award:
Aviation and Long Island - Rachel Boisclair
Principal's Award:
How Martin Luther's 95 Theses Altered the World - Patrick Lombardi