Contact: Jeff Morgan, Jeff.Morgan@iowa.gov, (515) 281-3858

(DES MOINES) – Twenty-four Iowa students won National History Day in Iowa competitions this week and advanced to the National Finals June 10-14 at the University of Maryland.

The winners announced today competed against 342 other Iowa students in grades 6-8 in the National History Day in Iowa Junior Division at the State Historical Building. The NHD in Iowa Senior Division competition will feature 184 students in grades 9-12 Monday at the State Historical Building, 600 E. Locust Street in Des Moines’ Historic East Village. About 25 senior division students are also expected to advance to the National Finals.

National History Day is an exciting academic-enrichment program that helps students learn about historical issues, ideas, people and events. Working individually or collaboratively in groups of two to five, students compete in a variety of categories including papers, individual exhibits, group exhibits, individual documentaries, group documentaries, individual performances, group performances and websites.

The year-long academic adventure fosters students’ enthusiasm for learning and encourages them to use primary, secondary, community and statewide resources on a subject of their choice related to an annual theme. This year’s theme is “Triumph & Tragedy in History.”

Last year, Stephen Frese of Marshalltown received the Grand Prize at the NHD awards ceremony – a four-year, full tuition scholarship to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio valued at more than $100,000. Eight more Iowa students earned additional honors.

In addition, NHD events in Iowa will include a gala 5:30-9 p.m. May 18 at the State Historical Building. Teachers, administrators and friends of history are invited. Reservations are $15 per person and can be made by contacting Naomi Peuse at 515-281-6860 or naomi.peuse@iowa.gov.

The NHD in Iowa program has been coordinated by the State Historical Society of Iowa since 1994 and is sponsored by the State Historical Society of Iowa, State Historical Society, Inc., American Legion of Iowa Foundations, Oberman-Beck Foundation and the Polk County Historical Society.

The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs is responsible for developing the state’s interest in the areas of the arts, history and other cultural matters with the advice and assistance from its two divisions, the State Historical Society of Iowa and the Iowa Arts Council. The DCA preserves, researches, interprets and promotes an awareness and understanding of local, state and regional history and stimulates and encourages the study and presentation of the performing and fine arts and public interest and participation in them. It implements tourism-related art and history projects as directed by the General Assembly and designs a comprehensive, statewide, long-range plan with the assistance of the Iowa Arts Council to develop the arts in Iowa. More information about DCA is available at www.culturalaffairs.org.

The State Historical Society of Iowa is a trustee of Iowa’s historical legacy and an advocate for understanding Iowa’s past. It identifies, records, collects, preserves, manages and provides access to Iowa’s historical resources. Its dual mission of preservation and education serves Iowans of all ages, conducts and stimulates research, disseminates information, and encourages and supports historical preservation and education efforts of others throughout the state.

Following are the NHD in Iowa Junior Division winners announced today:

(Category)
(Student(s))
(Title of Project)
(Teacher)
(School)
(City, State)

Junior Historical Paper

Palani Permeswaran
Henry Agard Wallace: A Triumphant Life Turned Tragic
Jeanne Rust
LeMars Middle School
LeMars, Iowa

Yashila Permeswaran
Eleanor Roosevelt: Overcoming Personal Tragedy to Help Other Triumph
Jeanne Rust
LeMars Middle School
LeMars, Iowa

Alternate: Emily Baker
Belgian Relief: Souper!!! The Triumph and Tragedy of the Belgian Relief During WWI
Julie Pegump
Oak Ridge School
Marion, Iowa

Junior Individual Exhibit

Jessica Salpor
WASP: Flying to Help
Jan Van Hemert
Pella Middle School
Pella, Iowa

Rachel Meredith
Flying High and Clipped Wings: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Women Air Force Service Pilots
Jeanne Rust
LeMars Middle School
LeMars, Iowa

Alternate: Nick Dunne
The Battle of the Alamo: The Defeat that Inspired Victory
Jean Oberbroeckling
Harding Middle School
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Junior Group Exhibit

Samantha Beitzel, Katelyn Tharp
Scattergood Hostel: Triumph in a World at War
Chris Green
North Scott Junior High
Eldridge, Iowa

Sara Blagg, Brianne Hassman
Nunna Daul Tsuny The Trail of Tears: Tragedy and Triumph of the Cherokee Nation
Diane Blagg, Karen Hassman
Home School
Marshalltown, Iowa

Alternates: Mackenzie Larson, Emily Mallinger, Blair Miller, Jillian Rosendahl, Lauren Twait
Jack Trice: A Fight for Equality Jenny Larson
Manson-Northwest Webster Middle School
Manson, Iowa

Junior Individual Documentary

Rebekah Frese
Boarding the Freedom Train: The Underground Railroad in Iowa
Millie Frese, Karen Roessler
Lenihan Intermediate School
Marshalltown, Iowa

Mike Ahlers
The American Economy
Jeanne Rust
LeMars Middle School
LeMars, Iowa

Alternate: Sarah Wallingford
Progress with a Price: The Hoover Dam
Pam Schmitt
St. Patrick’s School
Cedar Falls, Iowa

Junior Group Documentary

Allison Kjar, Sarah Parkinson
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: The Tragedy that Changed America’s Workplace
Valorie Philips, Colleen Westergard
Akron-Westfield Community School,
Akron, Iowa

Jonathan Knudson, Nathan Lee, Matthew Sullivan
The Triumph and Tragedy of the Treaty of Kanagawa
Peggy Beatty, Janelle Keune, Meg Storkamp
Decorah Middle School
Decorah, Iowa

Alternates: Margaret Brimeyer, Kayla Flyckt, Sarah Mayer
Rosalind Franklin: The Unknown Hero Behind the DNA Discovery
Kathy Paul
Johnston Middle School
Johnston, Iowa

Junior Individual Performance

Katherine Tindall
“Deterred But Not Defeated”: The Duluth Tragedy and Triumph Over Racial Hatred
Valorie Philips, Colleen Westergard
Akron-Westfield Community School
Akron, Iowa

Leah Bowman
Gideon v. Wainwright: Breaking Barriers from Behind Bars
Kathy Paul
Johnston Middle School
Johnston, Iowa

Alternate: Katherine Schulz
Tragedies on Track to Triumph
Korey Cantrell
Storm Lake Middle School
Storm Lake, Iowa

Junior Group Performance

Abbie Cahill, Andrea Wilson
Universal Precautions: The Tragedy and Triumph of Barbara Fassbinder
Chris Green
North Scott Junior High
Eldridge, Iowa

Haley Coyle, Katlyn Mace, Emily Miller, Jayde Ostermyer, Jaclyn Smith
Poster Children, Marching Mothers, and Polio Pioneers: A Tragic Disease and a Nation’s Triumph
Valorie Philips, Colleen Westergard
Akron-Westfield Community School
Akron, Iowa

Alternates: Ben Brown, Caitlin Heyl, Tasha Johnson, Joel Schroeder
The Newsboys’ Strike of 1899: Carrying the Banner for All Child Labor
Valorie Philips, Colleen Westergard
Akron-Westfield Community School
Akron, Iowa

Junior Division Teacher of the Year:
Wayne Haskovec
Hudson Middle School
Hudson, Iowa

First Place School of the Year:
LeMars Middle School
LeMars, Iowa

Second Place School of the Year:
Akron-Westfield Community School
Akron, Iowa

Third Place School of the Year:
North Scott Junior High
Eldridge, Iowa

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