NASHVILLE, Tenn. – On Saturday, April 11, 20 students from Northeast Middle School traveled to compete at the National History Day State Level Competition held at the Legislative Plaza in Downtown Nashville.

National History Day is a year-long curriculum in which students create a documentary, exhibit, website, research paper, or performance on a historical topic of their choice. These research-based projects are entered into contests at the local and affiliate levels, where the top student projects have the opportunity to advance to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park.

In addition to facilitating the discovery of the past, NHD also helps students develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, research, presentation, and oral and written communication skills, and engages students in learning about their local and state histories.

Of the 20 students who competed at the state level, eight have qualified for the National History Day Competition held at the University of Maryland in College Park this June. Nine have qualified as alternates to Nationals. The eight who qualified represent six projects that won either 1st or 2nd place in their category of competition.

Student Awards from the State Level Competition include:
• Marissa Lott, Amelia Bucher, Sydney Keesler, Lauren Graves, Natalie Sierra- 3rd Place Group Exhibit and the Margaret Lindsley Warden Award for the Best Project in Women’s History sponsored by the Tennessee Historical Society, Project Title: “It’s a Woman’s War Too!”: The Trailblazing WAVES of World War II
• Miracle Mitchell and Kennede Boyd- 1st Place Group Exhibit and the Award for the Best Project in African American History sponsored by the Planning Committee of the Nashville Conference on African-American History and Culture, Project Title: Corinth Contraband Camp: A Community of Forgotten Leaders for a Legacy of Freedom
• Ariana Collazo- 3rd Place Individual Exhibit, Project Title: The Story is Over but the Legacy Lives On: Eleanor Roosevelt’s Leadership in History
• Brittani Mays- 1st Place Individual Exhibit, Project Title: Diane Nash: Leadership through Non-Violence and Activism
• McKenzie Ward- 2nd Place Individual Website, Project Title: “An Ideal For Which I Am Prepared to Die”: The Life, Leadership, and Legacy of Nelson Mandela
• Brookelynn Aanerud- 3rd Place Historical Paper, Project Title: Ella Baker: The Mother of the Civil Rights Movement
• Alanah Smithson- 2nd Place Historical Paper, Project Title: “ꜞViva la Separacion!”: Victoriano Lorenzo Leads a Nation One Day, and a Culture the Next
• Dawson Bracket and Brianna Olds- 3rd Place Group Documentary, Project Title: Alvin C. York: A Leader on the Battlefield, and a Legacy in Education
• Ava Ploeckelman and Donavan Powers- 1st Place Group Documentary, Project Title: “Solidarity Forever”: Pete Seeger’s Leadership and Legacy in American Culture and Folk Music
• Whitney Flickinger- 1st Place Individual Performance, Project Title: Earning Representation: Carrie Chapman Catt, Leader of the Suffrage Movement

If anyone would like to make a donation to assist these students in covering their expenses for the National Competition, visit this fundraising webpage or contact their sponsors, Whitney Joyner, whitney.joyner@cmcss.net , or Polly Kopp, polly.kopp@gmail.com for further information.