Press

Sixty-one middle and high school students from throughout the Capital Region won top prizes in the Capital Region History Day Contest at the Cultural Education Center in Albany, New York and will advance to the state competition in Cooperstown, New York on April 29.

The preliminary regional competition of the National History Day Contest, held March 23, attracted 132 students and 75 entries from schools in Albany, Clifton Park, Delmar, Guilderland, Granville, Troy, and Schenectady. Participants included students in grades 6-8 in the Junior Division and grades 9-12 in the Senior Division. The national theme for this year’s competition is "Turning Points in History."

After working on their entries for many months, competitors qualified for the preliminary regional contest by doing well at contests held at individual schools throughout the area. Students researched history topics of their choice related to this year’s theme to create exhibits, documentaries, performances, research papers and website designs. Winners of the state competition will advance to the Kenneth E. Behring National History Day Contest June 9-13 at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Each year, more than half a million students, encouraged by thousands of teachers and parents nationwide, participate in the National History Day program. The program makes history come alive for America's youth by engaging them in the discovery of the historic, cultural and social experiences of the past.

EDITORS NOTE: The list below identifies the winners in the regional competition who will advance to the state competition.

Capital Region History Day Contest Winners

Junior Historical Paper

1st place: Avery Roberts, "How the Watergate Scandal Changed the Presidency," Granville JSHS, Granville (Teacher: Ann O'Brien)


2nd place: Jennie Tang, "The Stock Market Crash," Bethlehem Central MS, Delmar (Teacher: Kristen Burns)


Junior Individual Documentary

1st place: Conor Quinn, "Cuban Missile Crisis," Farnsworth MS, Guilderland (Teacher: Deborah Escobar)


2nd place: Ashley Visker, "The Polio Vaccine," Farnsworth MS, Guilderland (Teacher: Deborah Escobar)

Junior Group Documentary

1st place: Asiyah Moore, Amanda Ewiss, Set-Elbnat Eltayeb, Amnah Dhailia, Badia Dhailia, "Their Fight for Our Right: The Seneca Falls Convention," An Nur Islamic School, Schenectady (Teacher: Ashley Legenbauer-Sigond)


Junior Group Performance

1st place: Sahera Ahmad, Khalida Abdullah, Aliya Ahmad, Ayah Osman, "RAWA" An Nur Islamic School, Schenectady (Teachers: Ashley Legenbauer-Sigond)

2nd place: Sophia-Mae Scott, Brianna Thomas, "Women's Suffrage: Years of Fighting and Influential Women", Granville JSHS, Granville (Teacher: Ann O'Brien)

Junior Individual Exhibit

1st place: John Cheu, "Sputnik: A Technology Wake Up Call," Bethlehem Central MS, Delmar (Teacher: Kristen Burns)


2nd place: Katherine Wallace, "Harvey W. Wiley: The Forgotten Father of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906," Farnsworth MS, Guilderland (Teacher: Deborah Escobar)

Junior Group Exhibit

1st place: Natalie Mitchell, Sarah Davis, "The Black Death," Bethlehem Central MS, Delmar (Teacher: Kristen Burns)


2nd place: Morgan Labar, Lauren Namkoong, Delaney Corrigan, "Titanic," Bethlehem Central MS, Delmar (Teacher: Kristen Burns)


Junior Individual Web Sites

1st place: Nicole Chiang, "Robert Goddard: We Have Touched the Stars He Reached For," Farnsworth MS, Guilderland (Teacher: Deborah Escobar)


2nd place: Daniel Bemis, "Theory of Relativity," Farnsworth MS, Guilderland (Teacher: Deborah Escobar)


Junior Group Web Sites

1st place: Priyan Pathirana, Edward Yu, Daniel Zhu, "The Ironclads," Farnsworth MS, Guilderland, (Teacher: Deborah Escobar)


2nd place: Henry Li, James Gu, Sidharth Shamshabad, Kevin Huang, "D-Day," Farnsworth MS, Guilderland (Teacher: Deborah Escobar)


Senior Historical Paper

1st place: Michelle Kang, "The New Deal," Guilderland HS, Guilderland (Teacher, Deborah Escobar)


2nd place: Michael Zhu, "The Battle of Saratoga: A Turning Point in History," Guilderland HS, Guilderland (Teacher, Deborah Escobar)


Senior Individual Documentary

1st place: Sean Quinn, "Battle of Saratoga," Guilderland HS, Guilderland (Teacher, Deborah Escobar)


2nd place: Connor Reed, "The Lincoln Assassination," Shenendehowa HS, Clifton Park (Teacher: Amber Quinn)

Senior Group Documentary

1st place: Liam Campbell, Jacob Landis, "Ford's Assembly Line," Shenendehowa HS, Clifton Park (Teacher: Amber Quinn)


2nd place: Shannon Gerety, Rachel Wilson, Gloria Zhao, "Watergate," Guilderland HS, Guilderland (Teacher: Deborah Escobar)

Senior Group Performance

1st place: Gabriella Selbe, Maymunah Sarujamohaden, Ejaniia Clayton, Cheyenne Alvarez, "The Sounds of the French Revolution," Albany Leadership Charter High School for Girls, Albany (Teacher: Emma Steckman)


2nd place: Brittany Reed, Lisa Leggieri, Amanda Pendergast, "Alice Paul & The 19th Amendment," Shenendehowa HS, Clifton Park (Teacher: Amber Quinn)

Senior Individual Exhibit

1st place: Ali Digena, "Upton Sinclair: Food for Thought," Shenendehowa HS, Clifton Park (Teacher: Amber Quinn)

2nd place: Taliah Tillman, "Flying to the Top: An Aviation Woman," Questar III−Rensselaer Education Center, Troy (Teachers: Mary Bayham, John Mahony, Lewis Cappelli)


Senior Group Exhibit

1st place: Jordan Druckreier, Zach Frye "Stonewall Riots," La Salle School, Albany (Teacher: Jerald Hensler)


2nd place: Amanda Farley, Lauren Bausch, "The Impact of 9/11," Shenendehowa HS, Clifton Park (Teacher: Amber Quinn)

Senior Individual Web Sites

1st place: Sarah Jones, "The City That Kept A Secret," Guilderland HS, Guilderland (Teacher, Deborah Escobar)


2nd place: Devashish Chaturvedi, "LBJ & The Great Society," Shenendehowa HS, Clifton Park (Teacher: Amber Quinn)


Senior Group Web Sites

1st place: Robbie Benson, Henry Hance, Jacob Evans, "Penicillin: The Medical Miracle," Shenendehowa HS, Clifton Park (Teacher: Amber Quinn)

2nd place: Travis Sauer, Bailey Gatus, Ryan Harrington, "Pressure for Aviation Perfomance," Questar III−Rensselaer Education Center, Troy (Teachers: John Mahony, Mary Bayham, Lewis Cappelli)

The State Museum is a program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

The Office of Cultural Education (OCE), housed in the Cultural Education Center, operates three major institutions with stewardship responsibilities for collections — the New York State Museum, State Library, and State Archives — and the Office of Educational Television and Public Broadcasting. Further information about OCE programs and events can be obtained by visiting the OCE website at www.oce.nysed.gov/ .

###