Students from Across the Commonwealth Participated in the National History Day State Contest

On April 23, The Kentucky Historical Society held the 2022 National History Day in Kentucky (NHDKy) State Contest. The first in-person contest since 2019 took place on the University of Kentucky campus and drew participants from across the commonwealth. Over 130 students from 24 schools participated while engaging the talents of 37 volunteer judges. A special thank you to these organizations for their generous support of NHDKy and the state contest:

• The Kentucky Museum and Heritage Alliance
• Sons of the American Revolution
• Elks Lodge #530
• The Frazier History Museum
• Kentucky Office of the Secretary of State
• Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
• Kentucky Foundation for Women
• Battle of Richmond Association
• The Hopewell Museum
• Friends of Perryville Battlefield
• University of Kentucky Libraries

National History Day in Kentucky is similar to a traditional science fair but with projects related to an annual history theme. The 2022 theme is “Debate and Diplomacy: Successes, Failures, Consequences.” Students work individually or within small groups to develop projects in five formats: exhibits, documentaries, websites, performances, or papers. Volunteer judges evaluate the projects for historical accuracy, sources used, multiple perspectives analyzed, and relevance to the annual theme. The top third of projects in each category at the regional contests advanced to the NHDKy State Contest. The top two junior and senior projects in each category advance to the national contest, which will be held virtually in early June.

The NHDKy team at the Kentucky Historical Society would like to thank everyone who participated in the program and practiced the "doing of history" in a fun, competitive environment. 

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

Teacher Awards

2022 Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year, Junior Division Award

Pam Miracle, Page School Center, Pineville, KY

Special Awards

African-American History Award, sponsored by the Kentucky Museum and Heritage Alliance

Rayawna Holland, Savannah Frye, and Sawyer Frye, Refuse to Move: How Rosa Parks Sparked a Debate on Segregation – Junior Group Exhibit, Page School Center

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

Ian Cronk, Jack Gill, and Owen Krohmer, What’s the Deal With the Louisiana Purchase? – Junior Group Exhibit, Winburn Middle School

Outstanding Military or Veteran’s Affairs History Award, sponsored by Elks Lodge #530

Amelia Hagan, Women in the Workforce During WW2 – Senior Individual Exhibit, Academy of Individual Excellence

Outstanding Kentucky History Award, sponsored by the Frazier History Museum

Blake Burnett, Hailey Sanders, Logan Stepp, and Nicholas Stewart, Black Lung: Failed Prevention and the Fight for Compensation – Junior Group Performance, Page School Center

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

Shayaan Shahnaz, Winston Zhuang, and Yi Zheng, Diplomacy in the Cold War – Junior Group Exhibit, Winburn Middle School

United States Patriotism History Award, sponsored by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

Azlyn Goodyke, Elena Adkins, and Liam Black, A Real American if There Ever Was One – Senior Group Documentary, Paducah Tilghman High School

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

Vera Syers, Adapting to Overcome: Female Espionage During the Civil War – Senior Individual Documentary, Home School

Battles and Treaties Project Award, sponsored by the Battle of Richmond Association

Jake Buckman, The Reunification of a Nation: Germany – Junior Paper, Saint Nicholas School

Outstanding Local History Award, sponsored by the Hopewell Museum

Foster Banks, Junior Individual Documentary, The Code of All Codes, Battle of Richmond Association

19th Century Era Project Award, sponsored by the Friends of Perryville Battlefield

Isabella Woodall and Whitley Harrison, “Young America Walks the Plank” America’s Response to the Barbary Wars – Junior Group Exhibit, New Covenant Academy

Best Annotated Bibliography Junior Division, sponsored by the University of Kentucky Libraries

Kinzley Barrett, The Korean War: Invading the 38th Parallel – Junior Individual Website, Farristown Middle School

Best Annotated Bibliography Senior Division, sponsored by the University of Kentucky Libraries

Maddox Andrews, Do Not Pass Go: The Debate Over Monopolies and the Diplomacy of U.S. Antitrust Laws – Senior Individual Documentary, Academy of Individual Excellence

Category Awards

Elementary Individual Exhibit

1. Nolan Schmitt, The Life of PT Barnum, St. Francis School
2. Neel Dutta, Daytona 500, St. Francis School
3. Wilson Shoemaker, Stan Lee, St. Francis School

Elementary Group Exhibit

1. Cashton Hacker, Ellie Humfleet, Khloe Walters, and Carly Wilder, Where’s the Beef: The Debate for Safe Food and Drugs, Page School Center
2. Ivy Miracle and Emma Wilder, Titanic: The Ship That Changed History Through the Radio Act, Page School Center

Elementary Paper

1. Arden Lin, Ukraine and Russia Conflict, St. Francis School

Junior Group Documentary

1. Jacey Crowell, Ellie Klarer, and Kaylie Trimble, Founding Frenemies, New Covenant Academy
2. Atticus Fulk, Peter Pham, and Nicholas Pham, Revision of the Geneva Convention, Saint Nicholas

Junior Group Exhibit

1. Shayaan Shahnaz, Yi Zheng, and Winston Zhuang, Diplomacy in the Cold War, Winburn Middle School
2. Ian Cronk, Jack Gill, and Owen Krohmer, What’s the Deal With the Louisiana Purchase?, Winburn Middle School
3. Holden Abang, Levi Allen, Maddox Goodman, and Jordan Weeks, Japan’s Isolation Concludes, Saint Nicholas

Junior Group Performance

1. Blake Burnett, Hailey Sanders, Logan Stepp, and Nicholas Stewart, Black Lung: Failed Prevention and the Fight for Compensation, Page School Center

Junior Group Website

1. Eli Hoffman, Thomas Chandler, and Jeremiah Combs, The Paris Peace Conference, Winburn Middle School
2. Megan Glover and Kennedy Prater, The French and Indian War: George Washington Sparks a War, Rowan County Middle School
3. Brooklyn Kelly and Charlotte Millay, To Mask or Not to Mask, Saint Agnes School

Junior Individual Documentary

1. Foster Banks, The Lion of Whitehall, Battle of Richmond Association
2. Abhinav Maringanti, Mahatma Gandhi Debate and Diplomacy, Winburn Middle School
3. Hayden Harralson, When Was First Contact? An Exploration Into Alien Conspiracies, St. Francis School

Junior Individual Exhibit

1. Melanis de la Rosa Ginarte, Ocean to Freedom the Great Mariel Escape, Saint Nicholas School
2. Emma Planos Mauriz, Yasui vs. U.S., Saint Nicholas School
3. Ethan Monyhan, Does the U.S. Care About Laws of War, St. Francis School

Junior Paper

1. Myna Nguyen, The My-Lai Courts Martial: Failures of Debate, Noe Middle School
2. Helen Rose, A Fight for the World: A Poem on Eleanor Roosevelt’s Struggle for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Winburn Middle School
3. Jack Norris, The History and Use of “The Big Lie” in Nazi Germany and the 2020 Election, St. Francis School

Junior Individual Website

1. Caroline Adkins, Madeline McDowell Breckenridge: Champion of Debate and Diplomacy for Rights, Paducah Middle School
2. Kinzley Barrett, The Korean War: Invading the 38th Parallel, Farristown Middle School
3. Thomas Stromberg, Ending the Cristero War: The Lone Eagle Meets the Ham and Eggs Diplomat, Kolbe Academy Homeschool

Senior Group Documentary

1. Elena Adkins, Liam Black, and Azlyn Goodyke, “A Real American if there Ever Was One, Paducah Tilghman High School
2. Jordan Blake, Briley Breeden, Brendan Geary, Duncan Howard, and Dakota Renfrow, American and German Debate and Diplomacy in WW2, Owensboro Innovation Academy

Senior Group Exhibit

1. Karsen Judy and Hayden Lawson, Salem Witch Trials, Academy of Individual Excellence
2. Estrella Evans and Abigail Turley, Women Rights in Mali, Owensboro Innovation Academy
3. Kayla Davidson and Hannah Hartz, Angela Davis: Fight for What’s Right, Owensboro Innovation Academy

Senior Group Performance

1. Ava Blackledge and Kaitlyn Nelson, Vita Karoli Magni: A Recapitulation, Rowan County Senior High School

Senior Paper

1. Sarah Woosley, Debating the Diplomacy of Single-Sex Education: United States vs. Virginia, Academy of Individual Excellence
2. Fallon Cross, How Vietnam War Broadcasts Led to a Ceaseless Cycle of Civil Unrest, Academy of Individual Excellence
3. Jennifer Nguyen, Ho Chi Minh: Leading Debate and Diplomacy During the Vietnam War, East Carter County High School

Senior Individual Exhibit

1. Amelia Hagan, Women in the Workforce During WW2, Academy of Individual Excellence
2. Kelly Puckett, And it All Started With a Boom: The Debate Over the Atomic Bomb and the Scientists Who Fought for Diplomacy, Academy of Individual Excellence

Senior Individual Performance

1. Cecilia Stromberg, Sophie Scholl’s Treason Against Hitler: When Diplomacy Fails, Kolbe Academy Homeschool

Senior Individual Website

1. Willie Keiran, Red Scare: National Security vs. Freedom, Grayson County High School