Chief Umtuch Middle School’s Nicole Terry is headed to the University of Maryland June 9-13 to compete in the 50th annual National History Day contest. The eighth grader finished second at the state competition in April with her website, “W.A.S.P.’s: The Fly-Girls of WWII.”
A total of 12 Chief students made it to the state level National History Day contest at Lake Washington High School. The theme of this year’s contest is “Turning Points in History.”
“People think history is just ‘history,’ but it’s everything,” said Beth Doughty, who leads Chief’s Aspire magnet program and teaches history and English. “It can be about math, science, any of those things. So I encourage kids to pick a topic they’re passionate about and go with that.”
Terry said the idea of a project highlighting the work of the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots started last year when the class did a project on the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps.
“It’s such rich storytelling,” Terry said. “As I dug deeper and deeper, I just kept finding all these amazing stories.”
Eighth graders Elias Kunda and Elliott Rogers were awarded the National Maritime Historical Society Award with their group documentary, “Turning Points in Submarine History.” Fellow eighth grader Levin Dinh earned a fourth place finish at state with his paper, “The Commercialization of the World’s First Antibiotic.”
“History naturally forces students to consider multiple perspectives,” Doughty said. “They recognize that every story doesn’t just have a first-person point of view. You have to go find all the other voices to get a complete picture.”
Every year, over half a million students take part in National History Day events. Students in grades 6-12 are challenged to pick a topic based on a theme, then conduct extensive research and present their conclusions and evidence through papers, exhibits, performances, documentaries, or websites. Through this process, students develop skills in communication, project management, and historical thinking.
Terry said she’s most excited to visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC while there for the competition. She and Doughty have also booked time to visit the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capital building, as well as the National Archives if time permits.
