National History Day Officers Visit Finley Students

The National History Day initiative is heating up in Huntington UFSD. Students on multiple grade levels are developing projects for this year’s contest. The 2026 contest requires research to be framed within the theme of “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History.” A 56 page theme book is posted on Huntington UFSD’s website.

“Our National History Day officers went down to Finley Middle School to mentor and work with students in Mr. [Jarrad] Richter’s enrichment class,” said Lauren Desiderio, a Huntington High School social studies teacher who serves as the History Day club advisor.

The high school contingent included Ruby Hoffman, Ethan Ambrosio, Wynne Franciscovich and Jordana Boxer. “The students were enthusiastic about their topics and many of them had unique areas of interest,” said Ms. Hoffman, who serves as the club’s co-president. “They were open to pointers and asked lots of questions about the research process and how to find sources. They had a lot of ideas and were fun to work with.”

The year’s theme commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. “The distinctions among revolutions, reactions, and reforms are sometimes blurred,” according to the National History Day website. “Revolutions and reforms are often reactions to ideas, actions, or events. In turn, revolutions and reforms inspire reactions. Think of it as a domino effect; knock one down, which knocks the next one down, which knocks . . .”

“It was awesome having the National History Day officers down to speak with this year’s eighth grade social studies enrichment students,” Mr. Richter said. “Ruby, Ethan, Jordana and Wynne shared their expertise in their chosen project categories and the enrichment kids took the opportunity to ask some great questions. The officers’ tips and tricks are going to come in handy as the eighth graders move toward the creation phase of their projects!”