This year’s National History Day competition theme, “Breaking Barriers in History” came to life when school closures forced the competition online and students went above and beyond to showcase their hard work. More than 40 Kent School District students were chosen to represent the South Puget Sound at the state competition, which will take place virtually this year. 

“Students had the added challenges of the contest being moved online and deadlines pushed up a week early and after schools had been closed due to COVID-19,” Kent Mountain View Academy Teacher Joshua Murphy explained. “However, these students persevered, conquering all the challenges facing them and found a way to still compete.” 

National History Day is an annual academic enrichment program for students in grades 6-12. Students select topics connected to an annual theme and complete their own in-depth research on the topic. Students present their conclusions by creating museum-style exhibits, media documentaries, research papers, interactive websites, and dramatic performances. 

Cedar Heights Middle School  

18 Cedar Heights Middle School students will move on to the state competition this year. 

Alyssa Martin & Nathalia Ortiz 

• Group Exhibit Boards, First Place
• “Ascending into the world of aeronautics” 

Ella Wick, Giselle Sarff, & Hannah McDunnah 

• Group Website, Third Place
• “Is it a crime to vote?”

Inderpreet Singh, Mason Newton, Ethan Loghry, & Alexander Williamson  

• Group Documentary, Second Place
• “Vaccines: The First of Many”

Jamison Richards, Melissa Nowacki, & Brianne Catherson 

• Group Exhibit Boards, First Place
• “Elizabeth Blackwell: She Takes a Stand”

Kaitlynn Hanna & Yasmine Mikos 

• Group Exhibit Boards, First Place
• “From Drills to Pills”

Michael Hanis 

• Individual Website, Second Place
• “Apollo 11: One Giant Leap”

Will Valerio, Sawyer Broom, & Candan Altinay 

• First Place, Group Website 
• “Cosmic Conquest: A Journey for Truth” 
   

Kent Mountain View Academy  

16 Kent Mountain View Academy students will move on to the state competition this year. 

Ameemah Khan 

• Individual Exhibit, Second Place
• “The Dying Planet” 

Anastasia Tepsa  

• Historical Paper, Second Place
• “Yugoslavia’s Civil War: Disintegration of Six Republics, 1991-1995 The Breaking of Political Barriers In A Once United Country”

Ashley Gramann 

• Individual Performance, First Place
• “I’m Me: How Katharine Hepburn Helped Break the Barriers Set For Women in the Mid-1900’s”

Bernice McKee, Beverly Leithead, & Makayla Bachmeier-Evans  

• Group Performance, First Place
• “The Extraordinary Life of Miss Anne Lister Students”

Czjaka Jorgensen 

• Historical Paper, First Place
• “Einstein’s Theories of Relativity: The Breaking of Barriers with Logical Philosophy” 

Ezra Thomas 

Faith Piatt 

• Individual Exhibit, Third Place
• “The Marvelous Mold: The World’s First Antibiotic” 

Gursimran Singh 

• Individual Website, First Place
• “Shaping the Northwest: The Mullan Road”

Hi’ilani Sanchez 

• Individual Website, Second Place
• “Freddie Mercury: An Impact On the LGBT Community and the Rock Music Industry”

Janessa Hansen 

• Individual Exhibit, First Place
• “Blind Fanaticism” 

Lane Kuxhausen 

• Individual Performance, First Place
• “The Klondike Gold Rush: Breaking Barriers In the Exploration and Population of the Yukon Territories” 

Nevada Nelson  

Rowan Blacksher 

• Individual Performance, Second Place
• “Agincourt, the battle of 100 years” 

Vitaliy Piankov 

• Individual Documentary, First Place
• “Snow and Slaughter” 
   

Meeker Middle School 

27 Meeker Middle School students participated in this year’s competition and seven will move on to the state competition.  

Carter Johnson 

• Junior Individual Website, First Place
• “Turing Test” 

Hazel Thompson 

• Individual Digital Documentary, Second Place
• “Women of World War II: W.A.S.P” 

Jennifer Garcia, Lily Hail, & Jordan La 

• Junior Group Exhibit, First Place
• Yik Wo V Hopkins 

Landon Phan & Alex Mak 

• Junior Group Digital Documentary, First Place
• “The Polio Vaccination: Breaking Barriers with Barriers” 
   

To help uplift our feeds throughout the closure, we’re collecting and sharing uplifting stories of what you’re doing with students at home, creative ideas, accomplishments that are still happening like college acceptances, scholarships, and what students are looking forward to when they go back to school. 

Submit your stories and photos and use #KSDCommunity on your social media posts!

Article Source: Kent Meridian High School