Baltimore, MD – Nearly 700 middle and high school students gathered to display their extensive historical research at the 2018 Maryland History Day competition. The competition, held on April 28 at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), is the culmination of a year-long program presented by Maryland Humanities that saw more than 27,000 students participate at the school level.
Working solo or in small groups, students create original documentary films, exhibits, performances, research papers, or websites exploring a historical topic of their choice on an annual theme. 2018’s theme is “Conflict and Compromise in History.” Maryland History Day sparks critical thinking and helps develop skills in research and analysis, writing, and public speaking. The program is open to public, private, parochial, and homeschool students in grades 6 through 12.
Competitors at Maryland History Day have already won first or second place in their category at school and district levels. Students from sixteen Maryland counties and Baltimore City received special awards, designated for outstanding Maryland History Day projects that cover specific themes.
Students from seven Maryland counties and Baltimore City will represent Maryland at the National History Day competition, where they will compete among 3,000 participants from across the country and beyond. National History Day is June 10–14, 2018 at the University of Maryland in College Park. The competition involves students from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and international schools in China, Korea, and South Asia. Maryland History Day is an affiliate of National History Day, a non-profit education organization that promotes an appreciation for historical research among middle and high school students through multiple annual programs, including the National History Day Contest.
Support for Maryland History Day is provided by the State of Maryland through the Maryland State Department of Education, The Alvin & Fanny B. Thalheimer Foundation, Jerome S. & Grace H. Murray Foundation, Columbia Gas of Maryland, Kinder Morgan Foundation, and Wegmans.
*****
Maryland Humanities is pleased to name Thomas Crise and Samuel Spinder as the Maryland History Day Middle and High School Teachers of the year, respectively. Crise teaches at Stevensville Middle School in Queen Anne’s County and Spinder teaches at North Hagerstown High School in Washington County. Maryland Humanities has also nominated Crise and Spinder for the James F. Harris History Teacher of the Year Award, facilitated by National History Day. A committee of teachers and historians selects one middle school teacher and one high school teacher for the $5,000 national award.
Crise has taught middle school in Maryland for over a decade. He has years of experience in curriculum development, has led professional development initiatives for his colleagues, and organized History Day for Queen Anne’s County Public Schools. Spinder has taught at North Hagerstown High School for fourteen years and has served as the History Day faculty advisor for AP World History students since 2007. He also has experience as the Social Studies Department Chairman at Stemmers Run Middle School.
Another Maryland History Day teacher, Amie Dryer, has been selected as one of eighteen middle and high school educators nationwide to participate in in Memorializing the Fallen: Honoring those Who Served. The nine-month professional development program is based on a partnership between National History Day®, the National Cemetery Administration (NCA), and the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).
Dryer will travel to Hawaii to study the Korean War. Memorializing the Fallen: Honoring those Who Served provides those accepted into the program the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of history as they travel to one of 18 national Veterans’ cemeteries. Teachers will also visit some sites associated with the period and then develop a lesson activity connecting one element of WWI or the Korean War with a local national, state, or tribal Veteran’s cemetery. Activities are designed for use by school or community groups who visit the cemetery.
Dryer teaches at Calvert High School in Calvert County. She has participated in Maryland History Day for nine years. A pair of Dryer’s students, Kayla Bevard and Vina Vo, won the Special Prize in Women’s History this year for their website on Julia Ward Howe. In past years, Dryer has volunteered her time as a Maryland History Day Judge. Learn more about National History Day and Memorializing the Fallen: Honoring those Who Served.
*****
MARYLAND HISTORY DAY WINNERS 2018
ALLEGANY COUNTY
Special Award Winner:
Student: Avery Nies
Award: The George Washington Leadership Prize, sponsored by George Washington’s Mount Vernon
Topic: Conflict and Compromises of the Whiskey Rebellion
Category: Exhibit
School: Allegany High School
Teachers: Kimberly Sloane
Maryland History Day District Teacher of the Year:
Tammy Twigg, Allegany High School
ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY
Maryland History Day District Teacher of the Year:
Shelby Jones, Glen Burnie High School
BALTIMORE CITY
Advancers to National History Day:
Students: Grace Birth and Alexis Poindexter
Award: Senior Group Exhibit, Second Place
Title: Conflict and Compromise: The Oslo Accords
School: Institute of Notre Dame
Teacher: Caitlin Connor
Student: Maria Chen
Award: Junior Individual Website, First Place
Topic: Diversity in Times of Fear: Japanese-American Internment
School: Roland Park Elementary/Middle School
Teacher: Alexandra Fleming
Students: Miguel Davidson, Adam Schutsky, and Kalib Scott
Award: Junior Group Performance, Second Place
Topic: Where the Two Lines Crossed
School: Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School
Teacher: Ben Harris
Student: Katherine Giroux
Award: Junior Individual Documentary, First Place
Topic: The Yugoslav Wars: Genocide without Justice
School: Bryn Mawr School
Teacher: Matthew Hetrick
Student: Elise Longanecker
Award: Junior Individual Exhibit, First Place
Topic: We’re Not Tomboys, We’re ATHLETES – 37 Words That Changes Women’s Sports
School: Thomas Johnson Elementary Middle School
Teacher: Cathy Brock
Students: Morris Williams and Xander Zabel
Award: Junior Group Documentary, Second Place
Topic: Ed Roberts, Not a Victim
School: Roland Park Elementary/Middle School
Teacher: Alexandra Fleming
Special Award Winners:
Student: Emily Rand
Award: Malton Zaslow Award in Cryptology, sponsored by the National Cryptologic Museum Foundation
Topic: Operation Mincemeat: How a Silent Spy, a Compromise, and Some Ingenuity Enabled the Allies to
Push Forward to Victory in WWII
Category: Paper
School: Institute of Notre Dame
Teacher: Caitlin Connor
Student: Ava Rusko
Award: Special Prize in Labor History, sponsored by Community College of Baltimore County,
Labor Studies Program
Topic: The Homestead Strike: Conflict, Compromise, and Carnegie
Category: Documentary
School: Roland Park Elementary/Middle School
Teacher: Alexandra Fleming
Student: Claire Wayner
Award: Michael E. Patten Memorial History Award for Best Use of Primary Sources, sponsored by
the Frank Patten Family
Topic: Flight to Extinction: The Conflict between American Progress and the Passenger Pigeon
Category: Documentary
School: Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
Teacher: Maureen O’Neill
Maryland History Day District Teacher of the Year:
Sarah Martin, The Mount Washington School
BALTIMORE COUNTY
Advancers to National History Day and Special Award Winners:
Students: Sarah Broadwater, Kelsey King, Ellie Lawson, and Camryn Woods
Awards: Junior Group Exhibit, First Place and The Barry A. Lanman Award for Oral History, Martha Ross Center for Oral History, UMBC, sponsored Rev. John Willard and Dr. Barry Lanman
Topic: My Lai’s Outcry
School: Catonsville Middle School
Teachers: Robert Dungey and Katie Tucci
Maryland History Day District Teacher of the Year:
Adam Laye, Parkville High School
CALVERT COUNTY
Advancers to National History Day:
Students: Darrah Clime and Rachel Dorn
Award: Junior Group Exhibit, Second Place
Topic: The Berlin Wall: Conflict or Compromise?
School: Plum Point Middle School
Teachers: Adam Muffley and Gail Oakes
Student: Koy Greenwall
Award: Junior Individual Website, Second Place
Topic: The Black 14
School: Windy Hill Middle School
Teacher: Robert Lusby
Special Award Winners:
Students: Kayla Bevard and Vina Vo
Award: Special Prize in Women’s History, sponsored by the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center
Topic: Julia Ward Howe: The Fight for Women’s Rights
Category: Website
School: Calvert High School
Teacher: Amie Dryer
Student: Jackie Wealer
Award: Special Prize in Labor History, sponsored by Community College of Baltimore County, Labor
Studies Program
Topic: Publishers vs Paperboys: The Newsboy Strike of 1899
Category: Website
School: Northern High School
Teacher: Ron Chew
Maryland History Day District Teacher of the Year:
Juleiann Darrach, Calvert Middle School
CAROLINE COUNTY
Special Award Winner:
Student: Meadow Timmons
Award: Special Prize in Historic Preservation, sponsored by the Maryland Historical Trust
Topic: Castle Hall
Category: Website
School: Lockerman Middle School
Teacher: Shelby Williams
Maryland History Day District Teacher of the Year:
Andrew Buffenmyer, North Caroline High School
CARROLL COUNTY
Advancers to National History Day:
Students: Allison Lord and Parker O’Neill
Award: Senior Group Documentary, First Place
Title: Jeanne White-Ginder: Fighting for her Son and Compromise
School: Westminster High School
Teacher: Arthur Matthews
Special Award Winners:
Students: Morgan Babylon and Abha Shresthra
Award: Milton Zaslow Award in Cryptology, sponsored by the National Cryptologic Museum Foundation
Topic: ENIGMA: Alan Turing in WWII
Category: Exhibit
School: West Middle School
Teacher: Stacey Gruber
Students: Jocelyn Falkenstine
Award: Special Prize in the History of Science and Technology, sponsored by the UMBC Human Context of Science &
Technology Program
Topic: The Influence of Eugenics
School: Francis Scott Key High School
Teacher: Rebecca Bell
District Teacher of the Year:
Stacey Gruber, Shiloh and West Middle Schools
CHARLES COUNTY
Special Award Winners:
Students: Graciella Ndjampa, Kelsey Njembu, and Nehemiah Strawberry
Award: The Peace Study Center Award, sponsored by the Peace Study Center, Baltimore
Title: Nelson Mandela: The Fight to End Apartheid
Category: Exhibit
School: John Hanson Middle School
Teacher: Victoria Davenport
Maryland History Day District Teacher of the Year:
Ayesha Claytor-Stanislas, Matthew Henson Middle School
FREDERICK COUNTY
Advancers to National History Day:
Student: Lily Chalkley
Award: Senior Individual Exhibit, Second Place
Topic: The Stonewall Uprising
School: Frederick High School
Teacher: Beth Strakonsky
Student: Morein Ibrahim
Award: Junior Individual Performances, First Place
Topic: Abraham Lincoln: “Government of the people, by the people, for the people”
School: West Frederick Middle School
Teacher: Heather Kehr
Students: Christopher Pondoc and Jamie Roan
Award: Senior Group Website, Second Place
Topic: Conflict without Compromise: The Spanish Civil War and the Spread of Fascism
School: Frederick High School
Teachers: Beth Strakonsky, Michael Cleary
Special Award Winners:
Students: Ana Morlier and Ava Morlier
Award: Special Prize in Legal and Constitutional History, sponsored by Cynthia Raposo and Joseph Furey
Topic: The Salem Witch Trials: Clearing the Way for an Unbiased Court System
Category: Performance
School: Thurmont Middle School
Teacher: Candace Desonier
Maryland History Day District Teacher of the Year:
Heather Kehr, West Frederick Middle School
GARRETT COUNTY
Special Award Winner:
Student: Sara Huelskamp
Award: Award for Excellence in Civic Action and Engagement, sponsored by the Maryland Council for Social
Studies
Topic: “I Ain’t Afraid:” The 1963 Children’s Crusade
Category: Exhibit
School: Northern Middle School
Teacher: Amanda Wilburn
HARFORD COUNTY
Special Award Winner:
Student: Steven Frances
Award: Senator Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. Award for Excellence in Government History
Topic: Election of 1824
Category: Exhibit
School: Edgewood Middle School
Teacher: Kari Hart
HOWARD COUNTY
Advancers to National History Day:
Student: Jake Blum
Award: Senior Individual Documentary, First Place
Topic: On the Front Lines of Faith: Chaplains’ Reconciliation of Conflicting Roles in the Vietnam War
School: Howard High School
Teacher: Mary Curtin
Students: Hannah Chan, Phoebe Chan, and Erik Mechtel
Award: Senior Group Performance, Second Place
Topic: Wicked Silence: The War Against the Weak; The North Carolina Eugenics Board
School: River Hill High School
Teachers: Richard Gray and Diana Irby
Students: Ece Fisgin and Christine Kim
Award: Senior Group Documentaries, Second Place
Topic: The Radium Girls
School: River Hill High School
Teachers: Richard Gray and Diana Irby
Student: Nishtha Gupta
Award: Senior Individual Website, Second Place
Topic: The Iran Hostage Crisis: The Breaking Point in US-Iran Relations
School: Reservoir High School
Teacher: Jennifer Coker
Student: Sophia Scherer
Award: Junior Individual Performance, First Place
Topic: World War II: An Inadvertent Catalyst for Women’s Equality
School: Mayfield Woods Middle School
Teachers: Katie Quinn and Beth Singleton
Student: Nithya Nuvvala
Award: Junior Individual Documentaries, Second Place
Topic: The Conflict of Japanese Internment and the Insufficient Compromise to Internees
School: Bonnie Branch Middle School
Teachers: Anne Schaefer, Janine Sharbaugh, and Adam Yeargin
Student: Anirudh Saxena
Award: Senior Individual Performance, First Place
Title: Stubbing Out the Cigarette: America’s Hundred Year War Against Smoking
School: Marriotts Ridge High School
Teachers: Anthony Incontrera and Lynn Rashid
Student: Sharvari Tirodkar
Award: Junior Paper, Second Place
Topic: The Kashmir Conflict: Decades of Failed Compromises
School: Mayfield Woods Middle School
Teachers: Kathleen Quinn and Beth Singleton
Students: Abihith Velumuri and Colin Wang
Award: Junior Group Website, Second Place
Topic: Colorado River Compact: Historical Lessons for Water Rights Management
School: Burleigh Manor Middle School
Teachers: Beth Berkeley, Robyn Page, and Barbara Randolph
Student: Anjali Vidyasagar
Award: Junior Individual Exhibit, First Place
Topic: The Nullification Crisis: Precursor to the Civil War
School: Mayfield Woods Middle School
Teachers: Kathleen Quinn and Beth Singleton
Special Award Winners:
Student: Sierra Burns
Award: Major General John E. Morrison Award in Excellence and Innovation, sponsored by the National
Cryptologic Museum Foundation
Topic: AC vs DC: The Conflict That Sparked an Electrical Compromise That Still Stands Today
Category: Exhibit
School: Howard High School
Teacher: Danelle Brennan
Student: Virginia Wang
Award: Special Prize in Legal and Constitutional History, sponsored by Cynthia Raposo and Joseph Furey
Topic: Executive Order 9066: The Unconstitutional Injustice of Japanese Americans
Category: Website
School: Marriotts Ridge High School
Teachers: Anthony Incontrera and Lynn Rashid
Maryland History Day District Teacher of the Year:
Richard Malt, Marriotts Ridge High School
KENT COUNTY
Maryland History Day District Teacher of the Year:
Tracy Hodge, Galena Elementary School
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Advancers to National History Day:
Students: Holly Anderson, Anusha Chinthalapale, Calley Mullin, and Samantha Stewart
Award: Senior Group Performance, First Place
Topic: The Conflict in the Women’s Conference of ’77: How Ideological Polarization Impacted the
Discussion about Moral Issues in the Public
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Daniel McKenna
Students: Gwendolyn Boe and Bryce Davis
Award: Senior Group Exhibit, First Place
Topic: Small Town, Small Voice, Big Issue
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Daniel McKenna
Students: Julia Corfman and Angela Wang
Award: Senior Group Website, First Place
Topic: Quotas and Quibbles: A Series of Restrictive Immigration Acts of the 20th
Century
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Stephanie Gomer
Student: Karynton Crawford
Award: Senior Individual Documentary, Second Place
Topic: A War for Peace: The Students for a Democratic Society’s Conflict Against the Vietnam War
School: Bullis School
Teacher: Patricia Topliffe
Student: Leeah Derenoncourt
Award: Senior Individual Website, First Place
Topic: We Shall Overcome: The 1965 Freedom Marches from Selma to Montgomery
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Stephanie Gomer
Students: Angelica Frude, Paris Ye, and Lydia Yeh
Award: Junior Group Website, First Place
Topic: The FHA’s Effect on Black Housing: The Legalization of Segregation in American Neighborhoods
School: Eastern Middle School
Teacher: T. Justin Earley
Students: Allison Howlett, Gabriela Kolbe, Isabella Martinez, and Naomi Scissors
Award: Junior Group Performances, First Place
Topic: The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
School: Eastern Middle School
Teacher: T. Justin Earley
Student: Isabel Huntley
Award: Senior Individual Performance, Second Place
Topic: Office of Pandemonium: Alberto Fujimori’s Abandonment of Morals Amid the Shining Path Era
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Daniel McKenna
Students: Isabella Kreidler, Anna Marchler, and Prachi Shirguppi
Award: Junior Group Documentary, First Place
Title: The Harvesting of the HeLa Cell Line
School: Eastern Middle School
Teacher: T. Justin Earley
Student: Matthew Palatnik
Award: Senior Paper, Second Place
Topic: Nation Shall Not Lift Up Sword Against Nation: The Remarkable Road to the
Camp David Accords
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Daniel McKenna
Student: Macy Palmer
Award: Senior Individual Exhibit, First Place
Topic: The Bracero Program: A Conflict-Ridden Compromise
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Stephanie Gomer
Student: Aurea Sellmeyer
Award: Senior Paper, First Place
Topic: Conflict in the Coal Mines: The Anthracite Strike of 1902 and a New Precedent for Compromise
School: Homeschool
Teacher: Sarah Stecher
Special Award Winners:
Student: Karynton Crawford
Award: Award for Excellence in Civic Action and Engagement, sponsored by the Maryland
Council for the Social Studies
Topic: A War for Peace: The Students for a Democratic Society’s Conflict Against the Vietnam War
Category: Documentary
School: Bullis School
Teacher: Patricia Topliffe
Students: Georgia Bardi, Clara McClintock, and Gillian Stingley
Award: Special Prize in the History of Science and Technology, sponsored by the UMBC Human Context of
Science and Technology Program
Topic: The Green Revolution: Growing Forward While Stepping Back Category: Exhibit
School: Eastern Middle School
Teacher: T. Justin Earley
Maryland History Day District Teacher of the Year:
T. Justin Earley, Eastern Middle School
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY
Special Award Winners:
Student: Daniel Bates
Award: Special Prize in African American History, sponsored by the Maryland Commission on
African American History and Culture
Topic: The Harlem Globetrotters: Champions of Equality
Category: Documentary
School: Trinity Home School Academy
Teacher: Robin Bates, Wendell Bates
Student: Ernest Ntangu
Award: Senator Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. Award for Excellence in Government History
Topic: The Bretton Woods Conference: A World Economic Solution
Category: Documentary
School: Duval High School
Teacher: David Kosloski
Maryland History Day District Teacher of the Year:
Irene Prescott, Kenmoor Middle School
QUEEN ANNE’S COUNTY
Special Award Winners:
Students: Kaci Grimplin and Paige Rattell
Award: Major General John E. Morrison Award in Excellence and Innovation, sponsored by the National
Cryptologic Museum Foundation
Topic: History of Toilet Paper
Category: Performance
School: Centreville Middle School
Teacher: Thomas Hayman
Maryland History Day Statewide Middle School Teacher of the Year:
Thomas Crise, Stevensville Middle School
SOMERSET COUNTY
Special Award Winners:
Students: Katera Jones and Kalayah Murray
Award: Special Prize in African American History, sponsored by the Maryland Commission on African
American History and Culture
Topic: Conflict and Compromise of Harriet Tubman
Category: Performance
School: Somerset 6/7 Intermediate School
County: Somerset County
Teacher: Randi Merritt
Maryland History Day District Teacher of the Year:
Randi Merritt, Somerset Intermediate School
TALBOT COUNTY
Maryland History Day District Teacher of the Year:
Ed Keeler, Easton Middle School
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Advancer to National History Day:
Student: Eloise Hartings
Award: Junior Paper, First Place
Topic: The Calverts, the Crosslands, and the Maryland Flag School
School: Boonsboro Middle School
Teacher: David Lewis
Special Award Winners:
Student: Monica Becker and Erica Quinones
Award: Special Prize in Historic Preservation, sponsored by the Maryland Historical Trust
Topic: The Culture Clash in Alexandria
Category: Exhibit
School: Williamsport High School
Teacher: Beth Kromka
Student: Eloise Hartings
Award: Special Prize in Maryland History, sponsored by the Maryland Historical Society
Topic: The Calverts, the Crosslands, and the Maryland Flag
Category: Paper
School: Boonsboro Middle School
Teacher: David Lewis
Maryland History Day Statewide High School Teacher of the Year:
Samuel Spinder, North Hagerstown High School
WICOMICO COUNTY
Special Award Winners:
Student: Felipe Calderon, Samantha Glen, James Hsia, Gabrielle Hunt, and Anisah Khattak
Topic: Bridging the Divide: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge
Category: Documentary
School: Parkside High School
Teacher: Nicholas Dudas
Maryland History Day District Teacher of the Year:
Harry Suber, Wicomico High School
WORCESTER COUNTY
Special Award Winner:
Student: Aria Islam
Award: Special Prize in Women’s History, sponsored by the Department of History, UMBC
Topic: Queen Elizabeth vs. Queen Mary
Category: Exhibit
School: Stephen Decatur Middle School
Teacher: Anne Cook
Maryland History Day District Teacher of the Year:
Sean Wilson, Snow Hill Middle School
About Maryland Humanities
Maryland Humanities is a statewide nonprofit organization that creates and supports educational experiences in the humanities that inspire all Marylanders to embrace lifelong learning, exchange ideas openly, and enrich their communities. For more information, visit www.mdhumanities.org. Maryland Humanities is generously supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the State of Maryland, private foundations, corporations, small businesses, and individual donors.
About National History Day ® (NHD)
National History Day is a non-profit education organization headquartered in College Park, MD. Established in 1974, NHD promotes an appreciation for historical research among middle and high school students through multiple annual programs. More than half a million students participate in the annual National History Day Contest. These research-based projects are entered into contests at the local and affiliate levels, where the top entries are invited to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park. NHD provides professional development opportunities and curriculum materials for educators of all levels. NHD is sponsored in part by HISTORY®, Jostens, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Park Service, Southwest Airlines, the Joe Weider Foundation, and the WEM 2000 Foundation of the Dorsey & Whitney Foundation. For more information, visit www.nhd.org.