Press Release
June 30, 2022
Contact: Steve Hawkins
Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 405-522-0754
shawkins@okhistory.org
www.okhistory.org/historycenter
Oklahoma Students Win Awards at National History Day Competition
OKLAHOMA CITY — Students representing Oklahoma schools received recognition for their projects during the 2022 National History Day (NHD) contest. The national contest is the final stage in a series of contests at local and state/affiliate levels. Students begin their journey by presenting their projects in classrooms, schools and districts across the country. Top entries are invited to the state/affiliate level contests. The top two entries in every category at the state/affiliate level are then invited to the national contest. The 2022 National History Day Contest was held virtually June 12–18, 2022. Every year NHD frames students’ research within a historical theme. This year’s theme was “Debate and Diplomacy in History.”
The Oklahoma students who earned honors at the 2022 National History Day competition are as follows:
- Katherine Liu: 2nd place overall in the nation, junior paper, “‘The Little Ball Moves the Big Ball’: How a Group of Unlikely Diplomats Brought China and America Together with Ping Pong” (Stillwater Junior High School—Jennifer Eckel, teacher)
- Declan Jones: 8th place overall in the nation, senior individual documentary, “Treaties and Tears: The Cherokee Story” (Casady School—Amanda Pardue, teacher)
- Amasha Samaraweera: Native American History Prize Special Award and 2nd place in initial judging room, junior individual documentary, “The Quapaw Nation: ‘Lead’ing the Debate Over Environmental Diplomacy” (Classen Middle School of Advanced Studies—Amanda Freeman, teacher)
- Noah Ross: Irish or Irish-American History Special Award and 2nd place in initial judging room, senior individual performance, “Bobby Sands and the Irish Hunger Strike of 1981” (Canton Public Schools—Penny Heath, teacher)
- Brooklyn Green, Harper Jones, and Allisyn Smith: Irish or Irish-American History Special Award, junior group performance, “Caroline Chisolm, Diplomacy, and the Irish Orphan Brides” (Canton Public Schools—Penny Heath, teacher)
- Neha Kale: 2nd place in initial judging room, junior individual documentary, “Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher: Taking Legal Action Against Segregation” (Classen Middle School of Advanced Studies—Amanda Freeman, teacher)
- Maggie Clark and David Evans: 2nd place in initial judging room, junior group exhibit, “The Girls That Glowed” (Canton Public Schools—Penny Heath, teacher)
- Nicole Xiang: 2nd place in initial judging room, senior paper, “The Soil Conservation Service: Debate and Diplomacy in the Dust Bowl” (Stillwater Junior High School—Jennifer Eckel, teacher)
- Kylie Carrasco and McKayla Howerton: 2nd place in initial judging room, senior group exhibit, “Mr. and Mrs. Loving vs. Virginia” (Canton Public Schools—Penny Heath, teacher)
The following Oklahoma students’ projects were featured in various NHD showcases:
- Neha Kale: Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture Showcase, junior individual documentary, “Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher: Taking Legal Action Against Segregation” (Classen Middle School of Advanced Studies—Amanda Freeman, teacher)
- Katherine Liu: White House Historical Association Showcase, junior paper, “‘The Little Ball Moves the Big Ball’: How a Group of Unlikely Diplomats Brought China and America Together with Ping Pong” (Stillwater Junior High School—Jennifer Eckel, teacher)
- Emma Hoffman: Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History Showcase, senior individual exhibit, “Debating Equality” (Canton Public Schools—Penny Heath, teacher)
- Renato Giusti, Evan McCrackin, and Justin Yang: Planet Word Showcase, senior group website, “The Russell-Einstein Manifesto: Initiating a Movement Towards Anti-Nuclear Diplomacy” (Norman High School—Michael Grubb, teacher)
Funding for students, teachers and organizers has been made available by Oklahoma Humanities as part of the A More Perfect Union grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
NHD is a nonprofit education organization in College Park, Md. Established in 1974, NHD offers year-long academic programs that engage more than half a million middle and high school students around the world annually in conducting original research on historical topics of interest. NHD also seeks to improve the quality of history education by providing professional development opportunities and curriculum materials for educators. NHD is sponsored in part by HISTORY®, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Park Service and Southwest Airlines. For more information, visit nhd.org.
The Oklahoma History Center is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, National Archives and is an accredited member of the American Alliance of Museums. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.
###
