On March 2, three high school students and 23 eighth graders competed in the Sacramento County National History Day (NHD) event at Inderkum High School.
This is the fifth year Country Day students have participated in NHD, according to history teacher and NHD coordinator Chris Kuipers. This year’s theme was Triumph and Tragedy in History.
Eight projects will move on to the state competition on May 10-12 at William Jessup University: junior Anu Krishnan’s paper about “‘The Secret of Life’ — Decoding the Discovery of the Double Helix”; sophomore Keshav Anand’s documentary about “The Manhattan Project: A Secret that Changed the World”; eighth grader Sage Spradlin’s documentary about “The Triumph and Tragedy of Fred Rogers”; eighth grader Roxanne Schwartz’s performance about “John Lennon: The God of Modern Music”; eighth graders Lola Taylor and Eva Guile’s performance about “Dorothea Dix: The Mental Health Reform”; and eighth graders Eeshwar Doma and Aaron Monasa’s website about “The Triumph and Tragedy of Pat Tillman.”
Eighth grader Brandon Rogers-Martel was named runner-up for his documentary titled “The Beginning and the End: The Manhattan Project” and will compete in the state competition if one of the other winners in his category doesn’t attend.
Krishnan and eighth graders Jada Grey, Edena Ichel and Natalie Park also earned special awards from local organizations that award cash prizes based on specific topics.
Krishnan’s essay won the Medical History Award, sponsored by the Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society Museum.
Grey’s project about “The Triumph and Tragedy of the Jim Crow Era” was one of five winners of the African American Award, sponsored by the Sojourner Truth Museum.
Ichel won the Dr. Jacob Igra Holocaust Studies Award, sponsored by the Central Valley Holocaust Educator’s Network, for her project about “The Holocaust: The Triumphs and Tragedies of American Involvement.”
Lastly, Park’s project about “Lewis and Clark: A Triumphant and Tragic Journey” was one of five winners of the the Sacramento Pioneer Association Award.
—By Allison Zhang
