IUSD students made a strong showing at this year’s National History Day-California. In all, 15 local student projects emerged as elementary, junior or senior division champions at the statewide history competition. Orange County had the highest number of championship projects, with over half of the awards being from IUSD students.
“These students have not only learned about history, they’ve learned from history, and they are applying these lessons in highly compelling presentations,” said OCDE Coordinator Julie Hull. “Their projects reflect a sophisticated understanding of complex issues, along with their implications for our present and future.”
Every year, National History Day contests attract more than half a million students in grades four through 12 at the local, county, state and national levels. Working individually or in teams, participants thoroughly researched historical topics over several months before submitting original projects, including exhibits, papers, documentaries, websites, posters, performances and even podcasts.
For this year’s contest, the theme was “Turning Points in History.”
Heading to the National Contest
After competing in a two-day county competition hosted by the Orange County Department of Education in March, 72 projects were named finalists. Of those 72 projects, 48 IUSD elementary, middle and high school projects moved forward.
In addition to the 15 that were crowned as champions at the State Competition, nine other projects earned runner-up, honorable mention recognition or special awards.
Top-scoring entries included an exhibit on the East LA Walkouts from Sierra Vista Middle School and a group podcast on Global Dynamics produced by students from University High School.
About 1,500 students from 248 schools in 25 counties participated in California’s National History Day contest, which took place at Sacramento State from April 19 through April 21. More than 230 historians, educators and other professionals were on hand to interview students and evaluate their work.
Champions at the State Competition will advance to the NHD National Contest, which will take place June 9 through June 13 at the University of Maryland, College Park. Winners will be announced at a ceremony on the final day of the competition.
Here’s the list of CA contest champions from IUSD, as well as those who picked up special awards:
Elementary Divison
Individual Podcast
“Turning it Up to 1011: How Moving From Human to Digital Computers was a Pivotal Moment in the U.S. Space Program”
Lexie Holland
Santiago Hills Elementary School
Junior Division
Individual Documentary
“Beyond the Scalpel: Laparoscopic Surgery and Its Revolutionary Impact on Modern Medicine”
Mahima Wuppalapati
Beacon Park K-8 School
Individual Exhibit
‘" When the Computer Wore a Skirt": Christine Darden’
Yesha Gupta
Sierra Vista Middle School
“East L.A. Walkouts: Launching a Movement”
Henry Wiechmann
Sierra Vista Middle School
Group Exhibit
“Newlands Resolution: The Road to American Imperialism; A Political, Economic, and Cultural Turning Point”
Haidar Alkhafaf, Michael Wang
Sierra Vista Middle School
Historical Paper
“The Irvine Ranch Master Plans and the Birth of a Better City”
Jay Bruce
Sierra Vista Middle School
Individual Performance
“MacArthur's Bold Gambit: How Operation Chromite Became a Pivotal Turning Point in the Korean War and Shaped NATO's Inception”
Audrey Kim
Sierra Vista Middle School
Group Podcast
“The Wound and Scar of Divide: Understanding the Partition Between India and Pakistan and its Lasting Effects on History”
Yash Santosh, Shreya Pandey
South Lake Middle School
Individual Website
“Harvesting Change: How the Oxnard Strike of 1903 Transformed the Labor Force”
Meghana Wuppalapati
Beacon Park K-8 School
“The First Opium War: A Turning Point in Chinese History That Opened China to Western Powers”
Ellsa Ye
Sierra Vista Middle School
Group Website
"A Turning Point to Co-existence: How Silent Spring Led to the Reevaluation of Humanity's Relationship with the Environment"
Shawn Castrapel, Saanvi Chaparala, Sanay Chaparala, Daniel Cheng, Crystal Zhou
Sierra Vista Middle School
"A Turning Point in Immigration: How the Transcontinental Railroad Affected the Chinese"
Shreya Hegde, Christine Jeon
Sierra Vista Middle School
Senior Division
Individual Documentary
“Turning Points in History: Frances Kelsey and the Thalidomide Scandal”
Harmony Yan-Li
Irvine High School
Individual Podcast
“Currents of Connectivity: Transistors and the Technological Turning Tide”
Leanna Lo
Northwood High School
Group Podcast
“Pacific Convergence: Commodore Perry's Expedition and the Unveiling of Global Dynamics”
Kaiwen Zhao, Eric Zhang
University High School
Individual Website
“More Than a Mental Illness: Leo Kanner’s Turning Perspective on Infantile Autism”
Anna Cho
Northwood High School
Special Awards
Science in History | Inquire Discover Engage Education Group
“Turning it Up to 1011: How Moving From Human to Digital Computers was a Pivotal Moment in the U.S. Space Program”
Lexie Holland
Santiago Hills Elementary School
California Historic Places | CA Office of Historic Preservation and CA Historical Society
“East L.A. Walkouts: Launching a Movement”
Henry Wiechmann
Sierra Vista Middle School
Equality in History | California Foundation for History Education
“East L.A. Walkouts: Launching a Movement”
Henry Wiechmann
Sierra Vista Middle School
Labor History Prize | California Foundation for History Education
“Harvesting Change: How the Oxnard Strike of 1903 Transformed the Labor Force”
Meghana Wuppalapati
Beacon Park K-8 School
Social Justice and Diversity | California Council for Social Studies
“East L.A. Walkouts: Launching a Movement”
Henry Wiechmann
Sierra Vista Middle School
William E. Geary Award for Military History | Bluestone Faircloth Olson, LLP
“MacArthur's Bold Gambit: How Operation Chromite Became a Pivotal Turning Point in the Korean War and Shaped NATO's Inception”
Audrey Kim
Sierra Vista Middle School
Bessie Reed McDonald Award for Women's History | Friends of NHD-CA
"Turning Points in History: Frances Kelsey and the Thalidomide Scandal"
Harmony Yan-Li
Irvine High School
Individual in History | Friends of NHD-CA
"Turning Points in History: Frances Kelsey and the Thalidomide Scandal"
Harmony Yan-Li
Irvine High School
National Maritime Historical Society Award - First Place | National Maritime Historical Society
"Pacific Convergence: Commodore Perry's Expedition and the Unveiling of Global Dynamics"
Eric Zhang, Kaiwen Zhao
University High School
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