Joplin middle schoolers were among the finalists in this year’s National History Day contest
COLUMBIA, Mo., June 22, 2022 – Fifty-five Missouri students recently competed in the 2022 National History Day contest. Students from Missouri received outstanding entry awards and special prizes. A student team from Odessa was also selected to be part of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History exhibit showcase.
David Bhend, Brock Pyle, and John Jasper from South Middle School in Joplin created a group website for the contest. Their junior entry, Cuban Missile Crisis: Diplomacy on the Brink of Nuclear War, was selected as a finalist and for an outstanding entry award. For her senior individual documentary Governed with Greater Justice: The Debate and Diplomacy of the Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902, Elizabeth Arnold from Richland High School in Essex received an outstanding entry award.
Allison Arnold from Richland High School in Essex won the Agricultural History Society’s History of Agriculture and Rural Life Prize for her junior individual documentary A Traitor to the Planter Class: Thad Snow. The junior group exhibit The Newsboy Strike: Fighting for a Diplomatic Compromise by Kiley Thomas and Rebekah Thurston from Odessa Middle School in Odessa is featured by Smithsonian Learning Lab through June 27 as part of the National Museum of American History exhibit showcase co-sponsored by National History Day.
Two teachers were also recognized as part of the 2022 contest. Kimberly Brownlee, an English language arts teacher at Liberty North High School in Liberty, and Brian Wiedmer, a social studies teacher from North Andrew Middle School in Rosendale, were nominated for the Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year Award which celebrates excellence and creativity in the classroom. Brownlee was a top finalist for the award.
Each year, NHD students compete in five project categories, including documentary, exhibit, performance, paper and website. Any public, private, or home school students who meet the grade criteria can enter the annual contest if sponsored by a teacher, guardian or mentor. The contest is open to students in grades 6-12. Just under 500 students competed in the state level this year with many more students competing at the local and regional contests held earlier this year. Winners at the state level are listed on the National History Day in Missouri website. This year’s contest theme was “Debate and Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences.”