Winners of 2013 State History Day Competition Announced

The winners of the 2013 National History Day in Minnesota State Competition were announced Saturday, May 4 in an awards ceremony held at the University of Minnesota, Coffman Union. The first- and second-place winners from each of 18 project categories earned an invitation to the National History Day competition at the University of Maryland, College Park, June 9-13.

Students presented projects in the categories of exhibits, documentary films, historical performances, web sites and research papers, based on the 2013 History Day theme, "Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events."

Student winners hail from across the state including the Twin Cities, Duluth, Winona, Mankato, Rochester and SE Minnesota, and Spring Lake Park. The two top junior division and senior division entries from around the state are:

Junior Individual Exhibit

1. "A Breakthrough: Dr. Harken's Turning Point in Cardiac Surgery"

Anselma Lopez, Seward Montessori School (Minneapolis)

2. "The Civilian Conservation Corps"

Jennie Hebaus, Sunrise Park Middle School (White Bear Lake)

Junior Group Exhibit

1. "The Death of the Western Roman Empire: A Pivotal Change in History"

Ruhi Doshi, Mara Brick, Mari Leland, Wayzata West Middle School (Minneapolis)

2. "Eradicating Polio"

Anna Wieland, Emily Zoborowski, Sunrise Park Middle School (White Bear Lake)

Senior Individual Exhibit

1. ""They Were the Change": Turning Point at Morrill Hall"

Nick Reed, Jackson County Central Middle School (Lakefield)

2. "A Book Changed the World: Rachel Carson's Silent Spring"

Kaitlyn Lindaman, Winona Senior High School (Winona)

Senior Group Exhibit

1. "A Turning Point for the Democratic Party: Hubert Humphrey's Speech at the 1948 DNC"

Mary Traxler, Lindsey Chambers, Holly Hanhins, Nusla Mohamed, Mankato West High School (Mankato)

2. "Common Sense: Turning Point for the American Mindset"

Kennedy Maker, Paul Esslinger, John Haley, Isaac Mehlhaff, Mankato West High School (Mankato)

Junior Individual Documentary

1. "Silent Spring: A Turning Point in Environmental History"

Siena Leone-Getten, Open World Learning Community (St. Paul)

2. "Gandhi: A Turning Point in History"

Meghana Iyer, Valley View Middle School (Edina)

Junior Group Documentary

1. "The U.S. - Dakota War of 1862. A Turning Point in Dakota Culture"

Bjorn Holm, Simon Dungan-Seaver, Eli Sage-Martinson, Open World Learning Community (St. Paul)

2. "The Triangle Fire: A Turning Point in Worker Safety"

Charlotte Hunsicker, Ani Stordahl, Lake Harriet Community School (Minneapolis)

Senior Individual Documentary

1. "Out of the Closet and Into the Streets: Frank Kameny and the Mattachine Society of Washington D.C."

Maddie Pavek, Century High School (Rochester)

2. "Title IX"

Laura Gale, Kennedy Senior High School (Bloomington)

Senior Group Documentary

1. "Driven to Decline: Interstate Highways, Suburbanization, and Urban Decay"

Frances Matejcek, Becky Norling-Ruggles, Grace Palmer, South High School (Minneapolis)

2. "Making a Splash: A Turning Point in Environmental Legislation"

Bailey Hilgren, Luke Isensee, Chatfield Public Schools (Chatfield)

Junior Individual Performance

1. "The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862: A Tragic Turning Point Fueled by Greed, Corruption, and Racism"

Anna Mulhern, Seward Montessori School (Minneapolis)

2. "Little Rock Nine: Struggle for Integration"

Grace Kellar-Long, Open World Learning Community (St. Paul)

Junior Group Performance

1. "Spartacus: The Movie that Broke the Blacklist"

Sovigne Gardner, Grace Gardner, Cyber Village Academy (St. Paul)

2. "Estonia's Singing Revolution: Notes that Changed the World"

Seamus Flynn, Ethan Davenport, Kirby Goodell, Cyber Village Academy (St. Paul)

Senior Individual Performance

1. "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of the 14th Amendment: The Turning Point of In re Gault"

Sarah Westad, White Bear Lake High School (White Bear Lake)

2. "Redemption Through Racism: the Compromise of 1877 and Its Impact on the South"

Caledonia Wilson, South High School (Caledonia)

Senior Group Performance

1. "Ida Tarbell's Expose of Standard Oil: A Turning Point in Journalism"

Monica Nelson, Sarah Becker, William Menor, Homeschool-John Paul II (Ham Lake/Duluth)

2. "Beatlemania: A Turning Point in the Mood of a Nation"

Kiana Alleman, Shayne Okerstrom, Tomas Piepkorn, Grant Geerdes, Anders Strandlund, CHOF School (St. Paul)

Junior Paper

1. "On the Brink: Nuclear Warfare in the Cuban Missile Crisis"

Olivia DiGiorno, Parkview Center School (Roseville)

2. "The GI Bill"

Sarah Wheaton, Twin Cities Academy (St. Paul)

Senior Paper

1. "The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire"

Kira Leadholm, Blake School (Minneapolis)

2. "Corruption and Consequences: The Watergate Break-in and Its Effect on the Media and the American People’s Trust in Government Officials"

Jessica Reinhart, Cretin-Derham Hall High School (St. Paul)

Junior Individual Web Site

1. "http://96372550.nhd.weebly.com The Stonewall Riots: Catalyst for Gay Rights"

Elsa Cournoyer, Capitol Hill Magnet School (St. Paul)

2. "http://70443458.nhd.weebly.com Krushchev's Secret Speech: A Turning Point in Soviet Political Ideas"

Noah Rooze, Cyber Village Academy (St. Paul)

Junior Group Web Site

1. "http://64258589.nhd.weebly.com A Turning Point in Medicine: The Invention of Chemotherapy"

Eleanor O'Callaghan, Miranda Skinner, Capitol Hill Magnet School (St. Paul)

2. "http://86963371.nhd.weebly.com Robert Smalls Commandeering the Planter to Freedom"

Eric Lagos, Soren Malm, L’Etoile du Nord French Immersion (St. Paul)

Senior Individual Web Site

1. "http://78876779.nhd.weebly.com The 1917 "Night of Terror":Turning the Tide of the American Women's Suffrage Movement"

Madeline Lee, Spring Lake Park L.A. Lighthouse (Spring Lake Park)

2. "http://12669237.nhd.weebly.com/ Energy Crisis of the 1970's"

Madeline Henschel, DeLaSalle High School (Minneapolis)

Senior Group Web Site

1. "http://38727345.nhd.weebly.com/ Uplifting the Untouchables: The Ambedkar Movement"

Allegra Jonas, Nicholas Pemberton, DeLaSalle High School (Minneapolis)

2. "http://66760250.nhd.weebly.com The 1969 Santa Barbara Oil Spill"

Maziere Flynn, Kathleen Watson, Highland Park Sr. High School (St. Paul)

About History Day

For more information about National History Day in Minnesota, including a list of student presenters and their topics, call 651-259-3425 or see the National History Day in Minnesota website.

The National History Day in Minnesota program is co-sponsored by the Minnesota Historical Society and the University of Minnesota.

Major funding is provided by: 3M Foundation, Carolyn Foundation, The Gerald and Patrice Halbach Charitable Fund, Ralph and Virginia Kurtzman Fund, David and Janis Larson, Margaret and Lee Skold, Frank W. Veden Charitable Trust, Wells Fargo Foundation and the James J. Wolf Memorial Fund.

Program support is made possible by the Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on Nov. 4, 2008.

About the Minnesota Historical Society

The Minnesota Historical Society is a non-profit educational and cultural institution established in 1849. The Society collects, preserves and tells the story of Minnesota’s past through museum exhibits, libraries and collections, historic sites, educational programs and book publishing. Using the power of history to transform lives, the Society preserves our past, shares our state’s stories and connects people with history.

The Minnesota Historical Society is supported in part by its Premier Partners: Xcel Energy and Explore Minnesota Tourism.