Connecticut Students Take a Stand in History on the National Stage: Results from 2017 National History Day Contest at University of Maryland

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For Immediate Release
June 19, 2017
Contact: Chris Zaccaro
chris.zaccaro@cga.ct.gov

College Park, MD – Taking a stand for women’s rights, saving the environment and the end of communism were among the topics Connecticut students researched and presented at the prestigious 2017 National History Day® Contest at the University of Maryland this past week. This year’s theme Taking A Stand In History inspired high school and middle school historians to write papers, produce documentaries and stage performances that included titles such as Game of Phones: How Lorena Weeks Stood Up to AT&T for Job Equality, John Muir: A Voice for the Wild and Tearing Down the Berlin Wall: Taking a Stand to Break the Iron Curtain.

Claire Faulkner

Topics ranged from hyper local to international and, for some, the history was personal. Claire Faulkner, a resident of Coventry and student at the Journalism & Media Academy Magnet School in Hartford, focused her documentary on a distant relative that stood up to the Nazis. Her project Helmuth James von Moltke: A Leader of Resistance to Hitler and the Nazi Party won her both the Special Prize in World War II History and the Outstanding Connecticut Senior Entry Award at the 2017 National History Day®  Contest.

Samantha Renzulli, a student at The Unquowa School in Fairfield, won the Outstanding Connecticut Junior Entry Award at the national contest with her individual performance One Child’s Stand: The Children’s March to Victory 1963. Renzulli’s project won first place at the Connecticut History Day Contest in April.

Samantha Renzulli

All 68 members of the Connecticut Delegation won awards at the 2017 Connecticut History Day (CHD) State Contest this past April. They competed against nearly 3.000 students from across the country.

The five day contest was kicked off by renowned historian and filmmaker Ken Burns - a longtime fan of the National History Day Contest. Throughout the week participants presented their work to teams of judges, met with Connecticut’s U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, and interacted with fellow student historians from around the country and overseas.

"Connecticut History Day workshops, resources and coaching have helped students create high quality projects based on sound research”, said Sally Whipple, Executive Director of Connecticut’s Old State House.  “Students develop critical thinking, writing and research skills, along with increased confidence, curiosity and the ability to ask and find answers to compelling questions. The Connecticut Public Affairs Network staff at the Old State House strives to do this every day through all of its programming. It’s great to see student work that we’ve helped nurture receive the highest National History Day honors."

Over five thousand middle and high school students participate in Connecticut History Day, one of 57 affiliate programs of National History Day.  Connecticut History Day is led by the Connecticut Public Affairs Network (CPAN), with support from the Connecticut League of History Organizations, ConnecticutHistory.org, and Connecticut Explored Magazine. CHD is also supported by the Connecticut Council for the Social Studies and the Connecticut State Department of Education. To learn more about Connecticut History Day, visit the program’s website at www.historydayct.org and follow the program on Facebook & Twitter.

 

Connecticut History Day students at the 2017 National History Day Contest at the University of Maryland and Washington, D.C.