Students in AT U.S. History classes participated in the Illinois National History Day competition in Springfield on April 27, where six out of 11 student groups were named finalists. Out of the six, four gold-winning teams will advance to the national competition in Washington, D.C. in June, representing Illinois.
The gold medal projects included two group websites, one group documentary and one group exhibit. Two additional teams were named alternate and finalists.
Junior Jonah Chen, a member of a gold-winning website team that examined historical challenges to birthright citizenship, said his group put significant effort into the project.
“I wasn’t surprised when we went to state, but nationals was a different deal,” Jonah said. “I was actually very happy about that.”
AT U.S. History teacher Cindy Jürisson said the competition’s most important aspect is how it builds students’ confidence and challenges their expectations for themselves.
“Over the years, what’s been really gratifying is that I’ve had a number of students who are genuinely surprised that they made it to nationals, and a lot of students who are generally surprised when they look back at what they accomplished,” Dr. Jürisson said.
National History Day results:
U-High’s gold medal award winners:
- Website team: Jonah Chen, Kabir Joshi and John Mangum
- Website team: David Li and Callum Reddy
- Documentary team: Arjun Sawhney and Gabi Novak
- Exhibit team: Daniel Chang, Amira Moultrie and Iris Strahilevitz
U-High’s State of Illinois National History Day Finalists:
- Documentary team: Jessica Stainton-Simmons, Austin Lok, Siena Moore, Lydia Gilbert and Delaney Connell
- Website team, first alternate to nationals: Ishmael Holtz and Cruise Lickerman
