National History Day State Contest Results: National Finalists Selected

On Saturday, April 12, 250 middle and high school students from all across Louisiana arrived at The National WWII Museum for the National History Day State Contest. Months of research and planning went into these students’ projects which were conducted on historical topics of their own choosing. Many of the students selected their topics in the fall and then spent much of the spring conducting research online, in libraries and at historical sites and archives. With the option to create either an exhibit, a documentary, a performance, a website or a documentary, students could display their research in the way they deemed most effective.

The theme of the Contest was “Rights and Responsibilities in History,” and to address this theme, many students chose topics focused on civil rights issues, labor struggles and the history of gun control. Each student’s project was reviewed by a panel of judges, and students were granted 15 minutes to answer questions related to their research process.

The top 2 entries in each category were selected to represent Louisiana at the National History Day Contest to be held at the University of Maryland from June 15-19, 2014.

National Finalists

Junior Individual Exhibit

1. Kelsey Billiot
The Trapper’s War
St. Bernard Middle School

2. Hadeel Kasji
Seeds of Peace
John Quincy Adams Middle School

Junior Individual Web Site

1. Dalyn Turner
Minority Voting Rights
Math, Science and Arts Academy-West

2. Zoie Spears
Effects of Apartheid on the Status of Women in South Africa
Math, Science and Arts Academy-West

Junior Individual Paper

1. Lye Bordelon-Walker
The Fall of the Wall
Runnels School

2. Hasham Warrich
The Rights of Jewish People: Pre and Post Nazi Era
Meisler Middle School

Junior Individual Documentary

1. Zandra Zemmels
Viewer Discretion is Advised: The Rights and Responsibilities of the MPAA
Lusher Charter School

2. Abbie Johnson
The Nineteenth Amendment
Math, Science & Arts Academy West

Junior Group Exhibit

1. Madison Russell, Jessica Staggs
Vichy France: The Complexity of Humanity’s Past and the Implications that Individual Choices Have on Others & The Future
Northwestern Middle School

2. Dylan Bennett, Sarah Aviles, Theresa-Anne Sklar
The Cristero War
St. Mary’s-Natchitoches

Junior Group Web Site

1. Nohemi Lainez, Pamela Caceras
The Desegregation of the Jefferson Parish School System
John Quincy Adams Middle School

2. Briyana Vega-Percorina, Fernando Pavon, Ashely Caseres
The First Ladies
John Quincy Adams Middle School

Junior Group Documentary

1. Sebina Hajarevic, Admir Hajarevic, Selma Omerbasic, Mahmut Alagic, Demir Hajarevic
Human Rights Violations in the Bosnian War
John Quincy Adams Middle School

2.  Nico Anzaldua, Noel Anzaldua
Miranda Rights
Math, Science and Arts Academy-West

Junior Group Performance

1. Cole Conrad, Ben Ellender, Brayli Wix, Jill Elliot, Will George
Rights and Responsibilities: The Vietnam Experience
S.P. Arnett Middle School

2. Raneen Badr, Helen Kim, Micaela Bazile, Tiffany Cheng, Jasmine LeCesne
Child Labor Conference
Meisler Middle School

Senior Individual Exhibit

1. Brynne Lucas
Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries
Catholic of Pointe Coupee

2. Renee Trepagnier
Blatant Barriers in Girl’s Education Rights
Catholic of Pointe Coupee

Senior Individual Web Site

1. Minahil Khan
Life Behind the Veil: Muslim Women in Pakistan
Alfred Bonnabel High School

2. Claylon Howard
Child Labor and Education
Math, Science, & Arts Academy-West

Senior Individual Paper

1. Elizabeth Long
Magna Carta: The Basis of Democratic Rights in the U.S.
St. Mary’s-Natchitoches

2. Margarite LaBorde
Ancient Censorship: Greek and Roman Rights in Writing
Port Allen High School

Senior Individual Documentary

1. Jaydon Gibbs
Rights and Responsibilities: SDS and the Weather Underground
Westlake High School

2. Avery Grimshaw
China’s Children: A History of the One Child Policy
Caddo Magnet High School

Senior Individual Performance

1. Austin Farrow
Behind the Beret: The Other Side of the Story
Caddo Magnet High School

2. Zoe Zemmels
Bloody Sunday: Civil Rights vs. Governmental Responsibility
Ben Franklin High School

Senior Group Exhibit

1. Kate Caillet, Montana Hotard
Take a Shot…Rights and Responsibilities of Vaccinations
Catholic of Pointe Coupee

2.  Kyle Bourque, John-Mason Hendrix
A Man’s Duty
Catholic of Pointe Coupee

Senior Group Web Site

1. Sydney Neal, Amber Neal
The Trail Where They Cried: The Forced Removal of the Five Civilized Tribes
Math, Science & Arts Academy West

2. Chaddrick Smith, Mkyelas Peterson
The Tinker Trial
Plaquemine High School

Senior Group Documentary

1. Peyton Richard, Hailey Reaux, Raily Reaux, Selena Rousseau
Ice Pick Brains: Walter Freeman and the Transorbital Lobotomy
Math, Science and Arts Academy West

2. Jack Ha, Christina Hoang, Markzavion Taylor, Diep Vo
Cotton Fire: The Triangle Shirtwaist Tragedy
Helen Cox High School

Senior Group Performance

1. Hoang Nguyen, Cham Phan
Love for HOMOsapiens: The Rights of the LGBT Community
Helen Cox High School

2.  Lana Thalje, Karla DeBrae
Physicians Fight Against Yellow Fever
Caddo Magnet High School

Special Awards

International History Award

Ewan Todt-Tutchener
Australia’s Stolen Generations: Government Power and Parental Rights
Episcopal of Acadiana

National History Award

Kevian Madison
I’m in the Army Now: Women’s Rights and Responsibilities in the Military
Helen Cox High School

Local History Award

Ryann Beard
No Right to Leave: Living in Carville
Catholic of Pointe Coupee

Research Award

Morni Modi
Vulnerable as Lab Mice: The Abominable Tuskegee Syphilis Study
Caddo Magnet High School

History Day Dedication Award

William Foltz
Education: The Human Right with Immense Responsibilities
Louisiana Virtual Charter Academy

Matthew Foltz
The Second Amendment: Both the Rights it Bestows and the Responsibilities it Requires
Louisiana Virtual Charter Academy

History Day Teacher of the Year–Middle School

Michael Cilano
Catholic of Pointe Coupee

History Day Teacher of the Year–High School

Tara Cox
East St. John High School

Patricia Behring NHD Teacher Ambassadors

LaToya Bailey
Helen Cox High School

Esther Perez-Zemmels
John Quincy Adams Middle School