The future of National History Day, a longstanding activity where U-High history students have competed at the national level for nearly two decades, is now up in the air. The grant for NHD was slashed after the Trump administration demanded cuts at the National Endowment for the Humanities, forcing NHD to suspend the program while it seeks alternative sources of funding.
NHD is a national event where history students develop and eventually present in-depth research projects, competing with each other. AT U.S. History teacher Cynthia Jurisson said students have been participating in NHD since she added it to her curriculum 16 or 17 years ago. She said students in her class have advanced to the national level of the competition for the past 14 years. Participation has become a U-High tradition, and 19 U-High students qualified for nationals in 2024.
Dr. Jurisson emphasized the value of NHD for students, who do thorough research on topics they are passionate about and have the chance to showcase their work at competitions.
“The stunning array of topics that my students have tackled over the past 14 years — things that nobody knew much about and that would not have been studied otherwise — amazes me,” Dr. Jurisson said. “I’m deeply proud of that, and I’m very proud of the fact that students choose their own topics.”
Senior Tejah Rana participated in NHD last year when she was in Dr. Jurisson’s class. She and three classmates created a documentary about Ida B. Wells that qualified for nationals. Tejah said that NHD is important because it gives students interested in the humanities a chance to compete at a larger scale.
“I feel like having an opportunity where you get to present your work and showcase it and win an award for it, nationally or regionally — that’s really powerful for a student to have,” Tejah said. “It could open a lot of doors.”
Dr. Jurisson highlighted the importance of resources like NHD that uplift historical research and critical thinking. She recognized the uncertain future of the study of history that comes with the presidential administration’s cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities.
“History is essential for critical thinking, and for an accurate, detailed analysis of our past and present. And what is more important to understand than our basic context as a society? What is it, and what has brought us to this moment as a society?,” Dr. Jurisson said. “History is crucial for understanding these things.”
