Students from Silver Consolidated Schools National History Day program visiting the seat of the U.S. government. Here they sit in front of the Capitol Building. (Courtesy Phot0)
[Editor's Note: This is the second of several in a series of articles about and by students who participated from Silver Consolidated Schools in the National History Day competitions, under the tutelage of teachers Claudie Thompson and Lee Wilson.This Editor posed the questions, and the students replied with their comments.]
The Silver Consolidated Schools high school students succeeded at the state level, allowing them to go to Nationals in Washington D.C. Two entries, a group project, and an individual project placed among the top 10 finalists at Nationals.
The two interviews below give the insights from two who made it to nationals and continue to learn from the program.
Sophia Abeyta, who was part of the group: Sofia Lira, David Gorman, Bel Curtis, Sophia Abeyta - group
performance - Susan Magoffin and the Acceptance of Culture: People, Places and Ideas on the Frontier
I first took part in National History Day because I wanted to expand my knowledge through a creative process.
I originally came up with my topic when brainstorming state topics with my other teammates before eventually setting on Susan Magoffin.
When taking into consideration that I wanted to begin NHD for the creative aspect, I decided I would have the best experience with a performance and used that when thinking of topics.
I decided to work in a group because when brainstorming ideas, the people who would eventually be my teammates and I all had common interests when it came to the topic we decided on.
The NHD process has taught me a lot about what it takes to have a solid foundation when writing.
What I wished I did differently was to create a strong foundation for our script to prevent big changes.
When qualifying at the state competition for nationals it was a celebration between me and my group due to the fact we had grown so attached and were happy to have one more chance to perform.
When at nationals, it was hard to stay completely calm but my nerves when performing at any level ease after I start performing.
Although I am not going into a career involving history, NHD has helped me to increase my love of history which I will definitely continue even if not professionally.
Even in high school NHD has helped me when writing bibliographies and preparing for interviews so I would imagine it will be very helpful in college.
I 100% feel all the days and hours spent on my project were worth it every time I was able to compete and show my enthusiasm as well as share my knowledge.
Something that I like about this program was being able to go to nationals and interact with people who were just as interested in history as I was. This definitely was something that really makes the process worth it.
Lauren Brueggemann, who did an individual website— A Primal Howl in Defending the Defenseless: Edward Abbey and the Environmental Frontier.
I decided to start National History Day my freshman year of high school after Mr. Thompson emailed me asking if I wanted to join. I had no idea what the program entailed, but I decided to take it as an opportunity to challenge myself academically and socially.
After weeks of bouncing between topics, Mr. Wilson had mentioned Southwestern environmental author, Edward Abbey, and his literature as a frontier in environmental advocacy. I recognized this author and enjoyed his writings, so thought it would be interesting to do a unique and relevant project on something I knew little about.
I initially planned to write a paper because I thought it would be fitting to a topic within literature. After writing 2 pages, I realized how complicated the topic was and decided the message would be better understood with visuals such as pictures and video on a website.
My freshman year of high school, I did a group project, so for my sophomore year, I decided I wanted to try an individual project to have experience in both areas to understand how I personally work best.
Through NHD, I have learned how to research and gather a wide range of information through primary and secondary sources and narrow it down to compose a clear and concise argument. This process has taught me how to manage my personal time and motivation to effectively create something I'm proud of.
I wouldn't have wanted to do anything differently when developing my project, but I wish I would've had more space to add information, such as more perspectives, into my website.
After receiving results from the State competition, I felt a sense of validation that I was going to nationals and felt ready to start preparing my project to compete again.
Nationals was the place where I felt the least nervous because I felt confident in my knowledge and over-preparation. Websites also submit about 1 month prior to national competition day, so I felt confident in the work I put in then and was able to help out my teammates and enjoy competition day.
Participating in NHD has overall taught me public speaking skills as well as how to properly time manage. No matter what field I decide to go into, these skills will support my work ethic and ability to communicate properly.
NHD will most definitely provide me with an advantage in college. I have learned research and writing skills such as creating a bibliography and writing a thesis statement, which most students won't learn until college.
Yes, every minute of time put into my project was worth it because all the hard work and stress resulted in something I was proud of and felt confident in.
My least favorite thing about NHD is asking to interview people about my topic. I always feel nervous going into an interview but have learned that they are very enjoyable once I am able to talk about something I'm so passionate about with someone who shares the same passion. My least favorite part about NHD has led to some of the best opportunities within the program, such as having the chance to talk with two best friends of environmental author, Edward Abbey.