Kentucky Student Wins Top Placement at National History Day Competition

FRANKFORT, KY (July 9, 2024) – The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) announces a first-place award winner representing Kentucky in the National History Day competition, held June 9-13 in College Park, Maryland.  

Jack Gill, a student from Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School in Lexington, captured the top position for his Senior Division Individual Documentary, “A Theory, A Paper, A Turning Point: Claude Shannon’s 1948 Mathematical Theory of Communication.”

“This is an amazing recognition for both Jack and Kentucky,” said Museum Programs Coordinator at KHS and National History Day Kentucky state coordinator Ashley Buzzanca. “We are proud of all of our participants, and Jack has certainly worked hard to achieve his goals.”

Other outstanding placements during the competition included:

• Outstanding Affiliate Award, Junior Division: Adriana Partin, Isabella Grubbs, Reagan Day, Junior Group Documentary, “Barbie: The Creative Evolution That Impacted Young Girls Around the World” (Lone Jack School Center, Fourmile, Bell County)
• Outstanding Affiliate Award, Senior Division: Foster Banks, Senior Individual Documentary, “The South Shall Rise Again: How the Losers Rewrote History” (Battle of Richmond Association, Madison County)
• Special Award, History of Place: Azlyn Goodyke, Elena Adkins, Liam Black, Senior Group Documentary, “Preserving What Is Easier To Neglect: Revitalization as a Turning Point for Paducah and Small Town America” (Paducah Tilghman High School, Paducah, McCracken County)

Fifty-four Kentucky students competed at the national contest after successfully placing at regional levels and the state competition of National History Day Kentucky, sponsored by the Kentucky Historical Society. The 2024 theme, “Turning Points in History,” spurred more than half a million students globally to enter the series of contests. Top students from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., U.S. territories and international schools competed in historical research projects in one of five categories: documentary, exhibit, paper, performance and website. 

For more information about National History Day Kentucky, visit history.ky.gov.

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