On Thursday, June 13, National History Day (NHD) presented the awards for the national finals of the 2019 National History Day Contest. More than a half-million students entered the competition late last year, and only 3,000 of them advanced through the local, state and affiliate rounds to earn their place in the national contest at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Competitors represented 57 affiliate members, including every state, Washington, D.C., American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and international schools in South Korea, South Asia, and China. Through documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances, and websites, they presented projects addressing topics related to the 2019 theme, Triumph & Tragedy in History.
“I do not envy our judges at this level,” said National History Day Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn. “The students who made it here are tenacious. They spent many hours over several months researching, fine-tuning, and enhancing their entries. It takes a distinctive, dynamic project to win at nationals. Congratulations to the winners of the 2019 National History Day Contest.”
This year, Rosa International Middle School and Cherry Hill High School East represented New Jersey at the National Competition with two junior group documentaries, one junior group performance, one senior paper and one senior individual exhibit. With placing more than 1,800 hours into their projects, Cherry Hill’s team represented well at nationals.
Cherry Hill had 13 kids and four projects represent New Jersey at the national finals. Cherry Hill students’ documentary on Raoul Wallenberg took sixth place in the nation, and Cherry Hill students’ Emmett Till documentary was chosen to be showcased at the African American Museum.
