188 Students Participated in the 2024 National History Day in Kentucky State Contest

On April 27, the in-person National History Day Kentucky State contest took place at the University of Kentucky College of Education. It represented 188 students from 29 schools and engaged the talents of 70 volunteer judges.

National History Day in Kentucky is like a traditional science fair but with projects related to an annual history theme. The 2024 theme is “Turning Points in History.” Students work individually or within small groups to develop a project in one of five formats: exhibits, documentaries, websites, performances, or papers. Volunteer judges, recruited from museums, universities, teachers, and the local community, evaluate the projects for qualities such as historical accuracy, sources used, multiple perspectives analyzed, and relevance to the annual theme. The top two junior and senior projects in each category advance to the NHD National Contest, held at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD, June 8-13, 2024.

The NHDKY team at the Kentucky Historical Society would like to send our heartfelt appreciation to everyone who participated in the program and practiced the doing of history in a fun competitive environment. Thank you for helping make the NHDKY program possible for students in 2024!

To find out more or to become involved in this program visit: nhd.org or history.ky.gov/for-educators/national-history-day/.

Kentucky’s Nomination for the 2024 Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year Award

• Mr. David Trueblood, St. Nicholas Academy
• Mrs. Shannon Slate, Christian County Public Schools

Special Awards

Outstanding Labor History Award, sponsored by the Kentucky State AFL-CIO

• Elementary/Junior Division Winner: Zara Stewart, The Radium Girls: A Tragic Turning Point in Factory Safety, Page School Center
• Senior Division Winner: Emily Johnson, The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911: An Important Turning Point in Labor History, Homeschool

Outstanding African American History Award, sponsored by the Association for Teaching Black History in Kentucky

• Elementary/Junior Division Runner Up: Brody Sanders, Jordan Miracle, and Parker Lasley, The Devil’s Colors: How Michael Jordan and Nike Became a Turning Point for the Shoe Industry, Page School Center
• Elementary/Junior Division Winner: Charles Hobson and Katherine West, Dr. Philip C. Brooks: Turning Quality Healthcare into an Accessible Service for All, Christian County Middle School
• Senior Division Runner Up: Ella Narvaez, Emmaleigh Pennington, Hunter Parks, and Kennedy Miller, The March to Montgomery, Grayson County High School
• Senior Division Winner: Madison Campbell, Richard and Mildred: Loving in Black and White, Christian County High School

Highlighting Untold Stories Award, sponsored by the Frazier History Museum

• Elementary/Junior Division Winner: Zoe Davis, The Prison Camp That Changed a Nation: Minidoka, Tates Creek Middle School
• Senior Division Winner: Amira Trotter, Ella Colley, Florence Dim, and Makiyah Alston, Attucks High: Do or Die for Opportunity, Hopkinsville High School

Outstanding Kentucky History Award, sponsored by the Kentucky Museum and Heritage Alliance

• Elementary/Junior Division Winner: Charles Hobson and Katherine West, Dr. Philip C. Brooks: Turning Quality Healthcare into an Accessible Service for All, Christian County Middle School
• Senior Division Winner: Azlyn Goodyke, Elena Adkins, and Liam Black, Preserving What Is Easier to Neglect: Revitalization as a Turning Point for Paducah and Small Town America, Paducah Tilghman High School

Outstanding Women’s History Award, sponsored by the Kentucky Foundation for Women

• Elementary/Junior Division Winner: Sharon Zheng, FHSS: Entering a New Era of Wireless Communication, Saint Nicholas
• Senior Division Winner: Ivy Litton and Kaitlyn Nelson, “We Hold These Truths to be Self-Evident”: How the Seneca Falls Convention Sparked the Women’s Rights Movement, Rowan County Senior High School

Military History Award, sponsored by the Friends of Perryville Battlefield

• Elementary/Junior Division Winner: Jonathan Payne and Landyn Hollimon, Dropping the Nuke: Making War More Destructive than Ever Before, Hopkinsville Middle School
• Senior Division Winner: Alexander Hale and Thadius Toliver, Imperialist in the Making: The United States in the Spanish American War, Christian County High School

Outstanding Early American History Award, sponsored by the Sons of the American Revolution

• Elementary/Junior Division Winner: Deacon Barnes, The Patriot and the Plan, Yellow Creek School Center
• Senior Division Winner: Brody Arena, Cole Stroh, and Kannen Deaton, The Election of 1828: Muddying Up the Political Pool, Hopkinsville High School

Innovation Throughout History Award, sponsored by the Louisville Slugger Museum

• Elementary/Junior Division Winner: Connor Goodin and Lucas Brummett, Black Gold: How Drake’s Discovery Forever Changed the World, Page School Center
• Senior Division Winner: Kinzley Barrett, Now and Then: The Beatles, a Turning Point in the Music Industry, Madison Southern High School

Outstanding Political History Award, sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of State of Kentucky

• Foster Banks, The South Shall Rise Again: How the Losers Rewrote History, Battle of Richmond Association

Best Annotated Bibliography Award, sponsored by the University of Kentucky Libraries

• Junior Division Winner: Braylon Berry, The Columbian Exchange, Bullitt Lick Middle School
• Senior Division Winner: Jack Gill, A Theory, A Paper, A Turning Point: Claude Shannon’s 1948 “Mathematical Theory of Communication”, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School

Category Awards

Elementary Group Exhibit

1. Ernie Mason, Zane Boatright, Connor Stewart, Jackson Smith, and Benjamin Lingar, Battle of Stalingrad, Lone Jack School Center
2. Kassidy Starrett, Abigail Teaney, and Annslee Bennett, George Washington: The Man Who Shaped America, Page School Center
3. Cambria Wilson, Brynleigh Saylor, and Chelsea Raines, D-Day: The Turning Point for World War II, Page School Center

Elementary Group Performance

Jordan Miracle, Parker Lasley, and Brody Sanders, The Devil’s Colors: How Michael Jordan and Nike Became a Turning Point for the Shoe Industry, Page School Center

Elementary Individual Exhibit

1. Deacon Barnes, The Patriot and the Plan, Yellow Creek School Center
2. Harper Stewart, Ruby Bridges: Courageous and Brave, Page School Center
3. Archie Cacchione, The Space Race, Francis Parker School of Louisville

Junior Group Documentary

1. Reagan Day, Audriana Partin, and Isabella Grubbs, Barbie, Lone Jack School Center
2. Shadow Smith and Caleb Crowell, Iroquois Theater Fire of 1903: The Tragic Turning Point That Brought Changes to Public Safety, New Covenant Academy
3. Bo Hoskins, Cooper Epley, Hunter Johnson, and Alex Partin, Jackie Robinson: The Curve in Baseball History, Lone Jack School Center

Junior Group Exhibit

1. Leah Yeary, Amelia Ridings, and Madi Green, Navajo Code Talkers The Unbroken Code, Bell Central School Center
2. Abbey Roberts, Peyton Whitlock, and Lacey Vincent, From Pearl Harbor to the United Nations, Saint Nicholas
3. Eliyah Burchfield, Emily Langford, and Sophie Frazier, X-ray seeing the problem, Bell Central School Center

Junior Group Performance

1. Ellie Humfleet and Khloe Walters, The Ultimate Fight for Women’s Rights: How the 19th Amendment Became a Turning Point For All Women, Page School Center
2. Ethan Monyhan, Jack Norris, Carter Heck and Vivian Schnuerle, The Russian Revolution: A Theatrical Retelling of a Turning Point in International Affairs, Francis Parker School of Louisville

Junior Group Website

1. Paul Pham and Jaden Nguyen, Thomas Edison: An Everlasting Light, Saint Nicholas
2. Henry Giang, Sophia Nguyen and Jasmine Vong, The Hollywood Queen: The Power of Influence, Saint Nicholas

Junior Individual Documentary

1. George Thomas, The Printing Press, New Covenant Academy
2. Alfredo Hernandez, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Saint Nicholas

Junior Individual Exhibit

1. Zara Stewart, The Radium Girls: A Tragic Turning Point in Factory Safety, Page School Center
2. Zoe Davis, The Prison Camp That Changed a Nation: Minidoka, Tates Creek Middle School
3. Kharis Johnson, Uncovering the Muck, Bell Central School Center

Junior Individual Performance

1. Scotty Comstock, Meiji Empire, Saint Nicholas

Junior Individual Website

1. McKeyla Nguyen, A Change for the Better: The Occupational Safety and Health Act, Saint Nicholas
2. Sharon Zheng, FHSS: Entering a New Era of Wireless Communication, Saint Nicholas
3. Braylon Berry, The Columbian Exchange, Bullitt Lick Middle School

Junior Paper

1. Kayleigh Price, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, Lone Jack School Center
2. Henry Norris, The Beginning of the End: The Siege of Stalingrad, Francis Parker School of Louisville
3. Nathan Reid, How the Punic Wars Affected Rome, Tates Creek Middle School

Senior Group Documentary

1. Elena Adkins, Azlyn Goodyke, and Liam Black, Preserving What Is Easier to Neglect: Revitalization as a Turning Point for Paducah and Small Town America, Paducah Tilghman High School
2. Thadius Toliver and Alexander Hale, Imperialist in the Making: The United States in the Spanish American War, Christian County High School
3. Emmaleigh Pennington, Ella Narvaez, Hunter Parks, and Kennedy Miller, The March to Montgomery, Grayson County High School

Senior Group Exhibit

1. Amira Trotter, Florence Dim, Makiyah Alston, and Ella Colley, Attucks High: Do or Die for Opportunity, Hopkinsville High School
2. Kannen Deaton, Cole Stroh, and Brody Arena, The Election of 1828: Muddying Up the Political Pool, Hopkinsville High School

Senior Group Performance

1. Ivy Litton and Kaitlyn Nelson, “We Hold These Truths to be Self-Evident”: How the Seneca Falls Convention Sparked the Women’s Rights Movement, Rowan County Senior High School
2. Corbin Logsdon and Grace Matthews, Womans Rights Movement, Grayson County High School

Senior Group Website

1. Akshay Bassetti Nayakwadi and Saikrish Kolli, Zionism: Igniting the Flame of Jewish Sovereignty, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
2. Jacob Julian and Ben Coltharp, Screening Success: Television’s Influence on Advertising Evolution, Paducah Tilghman High School

Senior Individual Documentary

1. Jack Gill, A Theory, A Paper, A Turning Point: Claude Shannon’s 1948 “Mathematical Theory of Communication”, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
2. Foster Banks, The South Shall Rise Again: How the Losers Rewrote History, Battle of Richmond Association
3. Aryav Shigaonkar, A Technological Epoch: The iPhone’s Pivotal Role in Shaping a New Digital World, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School

Senior Individual Exhibit

1. Gwyneth Schulte, Electoral Act of 1893, Mercy Academy (Louisville)
2. Samantha Stone, Legislative Expansion of National Security Post 9/11, Mercy Academy (Louisville)
3. Madison Campbell, Richard and Mildred: Loving in Black and White, Christian County High School

Senior Individual Website

1. Kinzley Barrett, Now and Then: The Beatles, a Turning Point in the Music Industry, Madison Southern High School
2. Caroline Adkins, Bon Appetit: How Julia Child was a Turning Point in American Cuisine, Paducah Tilghman High School

Senior Paper

1. Lillian Westerfield, What’s the Password? How Prohibition Opened the Door for Women, Christian County High School
2. Emily Leonard, Progression Rises From the Ashes: How the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Forever Changed Workplace and Labor Reform, North Bullitt High School
3. Daniel Ratley, Billboard Regulation and the Highway Beautification Act: A Turning Point in History Navigating Aesthetics, Safety, and the First Amendment, Grayson County High School