National History Day
Each Spring, the Chester County Historical Society brings over 300 students, teachers, and parents into downtown West Chester as part of the Southeastern PA National History Day (NHD) regional competition. NHD is a year-long academic program focused on historical research, interpretation, and creative expression for 6th to 12th grade students. Students create original research projects based on an annual theme (2019 Theme: Triumph and Tragedy in History), with the ability to level from regionals, to states, and finally - to the national level.
Congratulations to the 2019 Southeastern PA National History Day Regional Winners!
SENIOR DIVISION (Friday, March 29, 2019)
Senior Group Documentary
First Place
West Chester East High School
SGD 102 I Can See Clearly Now
Abhirami Suresh, Mathew Iozzi
Honorable Mention
Garnet Valley High School
SGD 101 Scott and Amundsen Forward unto Discovery
Andrew Nagengast, Brent Nevy, Arya Vandayar
Senior Individual Documentary
First Place
Strath Haven High School
SID 102 Philadelphia 1793: The Tragedy of Yellow Fever
Lauren Karpyn
Second Place
Academy of Notre Dame
SID 101 We Will Not be Erased: AIDS
Jayda Hepburn
Third Place
Phoenixville Area High School
SID 103 One Less Set of Footsteps: Jim Croce
Henry Wandover
Senior Group Exhibit
First Place
CAIHS
SGE 103 Rebecca Lukens
Emily Scott, Layla Longo, Olivia Hillman, Mariska Perdick
Second Place
CAIHS
SGE 101 Battle of the Brandywine: Battle Lost, War Won
Rebecca Kibler, Mark Ward, Meghan Scott
Third Place
Penncrest High School
SGE 105 The Salem Witch Trials
Jasleen Gill, Bridget Spence
Honorable Mention
CAIHS
SGE 102 A Sticky Situation
Alex Ly, Jack Hadfield, Jeremy Ramos
Senior Individual Exhibit
First Place
CAIHS
SIE 101 Centralia
Julia Mattson
Second Place
Academy of Notre Dame
SIE 106 Katyn Massacre
Abigail Rowley
Third Place
The Concept School
SIE 109 Fire in the Hole
Nate Lichtenstein
Honorable Mention
CAIHS
SIE 107 Hyers Sisters: Pioneers of Black Theater
Samir Brown
Senior Individual Paper
First Place
Conestoga High School
SIP 101 Julius Caesar's Rise and Fall
Mathew Kovan
Second Place
Garnet Valley High School
SIP 104 Famines and Agricultural Advances in Europe During the Modern Period
Elizabeth Chen
Third Place
STEM Academy
SIP 106 Redining and Gentrification: The Lasting Effects for Urban Communities
Destiny Miller
Honorable Mention
STEM Academy
SIP 103 Black Panthers on Social Programs
Kayani Staples
Senior Group Performance
First Place
Conestoga High School
SGPE 101 The Diary
Ilena Mita, James Infortuna
Senior Individual Performance
First Place
Academy of Notre Dame
SIPE 101 Colors of Cancer
Maeve Pinheiro
Second Place
Academy of Notre Dame
SIPE 102 The Arom Bomb: Triumph for Science, Tragedy for Mankind
Rose McDonald
Senior Group Website
First Place
Academy of Notre Dame
SGW 102 The Maori Women's Suffrage Movement: The Forgotten Pioneers of Equal Rights
Andria Galante, Claire Chaplin
Second Place
West Chester East High School
SGW 105 Rise and Fall of Commercial Supersonic Aircraft
Sanketh Raju, Joseph Delaney
Third Place
Academy of Notre Dame
SGW 101 Triumph and Tragedy in Government and Media Portrayal of AIDS
Gwen Pohlmann, Emily Massa
Senior Individual Website
First Place
CAIHS
SIW 103 Pickett's Charge: A Triumph for Some, a Tragedy for All
Ryan Mendenhall
Second Place
Academy of Notre Dame
SIW 102 Nellie Bly: The Triumphant Expose of a Tragic Asylum
Emma McGuinn
Third Place
Upper Darby High School
SIW 104 Bangladesh Genocide
Sakia Rahman
JUNIOR DIVISION
Junior Group Documentary
First Place
Fugett Middle School
JGD 106 Martin Luther King Jr. and the Selma to Montgomery Marches
Jacob Samuel, Kule Finding, Caleb Cuozzo, Dominic Avagliano
Second Place
Fugett Middle School
JGD 104 Devastation and Restoration: The Nazi Art Looting
Erica Martin, Saanvi Bhata, Anna Kasehagen
Third Place
Fugett Middle School
JGD 101 A World Divided Remains United: The Fall of the Berlin Wall
Enio Hysa, Niklas Nowal, Patrick Tran
Honorable Mention
Radnor Middle School
JGD 108 Pearl Harbor
Theo He, Kathan Kalra, Andrew Yu, Zach Cohen
Junior Individual Documentary
First Place
Strath Haven Middle School
JID 111 Peace: The Journey of a Symbol (Sixty Years of Triumph over Tragedy)
Luke DiBonaventura
Second Place
Homeschool
JID 103 Sole Survivor: The Story of Sarah Collins and the Bombing that Shook a Nation
Qaris Wilson
Third Place
Radnor Middle School
JID 113 A Deadly Spark
Dustin Schrader
Honorable Mention
St. Norbert's
JID 107 Building the Brooklyn Bridge: A Tragic Construction and a Triumph in Engineering
Eleanor Grous
Junior Group Exhibit
First Place
Strath Haven Middle School
JGE 118 NAMES Project: Threads of Tragedy, Stitches of Triumph
Luci DiBonaventura, Ella DiBonaventura
Junior Individual Exhibit
First Place
Radnor Middle School
JIE 120 The San Francisco Earthquakes: Devastating Events Leading to Future Preparedness
Camden Cheshite
Second Place
JIE 109 The Other Road: Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and Environmental Awareness
Cailyn Lee
Third Place
Radnor Middle School
JIE 106 Halderman V. Pennhurst
Rory Rayer
Junior Individual Paper
First Place
Radnor Middle School
JIP 105 At War With Ourselves: The Role of Media in the Vietnam War
Mia Xie
Second Place
Imago Dei
JIP 104 George Washington: The Commander-in-Chief Who Decided the Fate of the American Revolution
Elizabeth Jackson
Third Place
Radnor Middle School
"Gentleman, this is No Humbug": The Advent of Anesthesia
Emily Holtz
Honorable Mention
Fugett Middle School
JIP 102 The Spring of 1865: Triumph Becoming a Tragedy
Emma Siravo
Junior Group Performance
First Place
Fugett Middle School
JGPE 101 We Fought For This: The Road to Black Civil Rights
Erin McClay, Louise Sims, Maria Guzman-Scherenberg
Second Place
St. Norbert's
JGPE 102 Nancy Wake: Woman Warrior of World War II
Lauren Elguicze, Katie Klaiber, Jena Nowoswait
Junior Individual Performance
First Place
St Norbert's
JIPE 103 Vladimir Lenin: Leading Visionary or Ruthless Dictator
Lawson Miller
Second Place
Radnor Middle School
JIPE 101 Triumph over the Tragedy of Smallpox: The First Mass Military Inoculation Program
Benjamin Holtman
Third Place
St. Norbert's
JIPE 102 The Heart and the Stomach of a King: Elizabeth I and the Politics of Power
Devyn Sargent
Honorable Mention
St. Norbert's
JIPE 104 General George S Patton: "The Old Blood and Guts of a Victorious Military"
Christopher Palmer
Junior Group Website
First Place
Fugett Middle School
JGW 104 The Creek of Blood: The Battle of Antietam
Steven Getsie, Trey Berry
Second Place
Fugett Middle School
JGW 107 The Triumph and Tragedy of the Berlin Aircraft
Summer Spiegel, Tyler Houp, Ava Watson, Riley Galt
Third Place
Sacred Heart School
JGW 105 Soyuz 11: A Soviet Space Triumph and Tragedy
Michael Besancon, Catherine Detweiler, Eugene Klein, Danielle Schaible, Marlie Sloan
Junior Individual Website
First Place
Radnor Hollow Middle School
JIW 108 Kosciuszko in the Revolutionary War
Renatka Kozlowska
Second Place
Radnor Middle School
JIW 107 The League of Nations: Seeds of Change
Claudia Gelles
Third Place
Radnor Middle School
JIW 104 The Hungnam Evacuation: Operation "Christmas Cargo"
Sungwoo Oh
-----
For more information on National History Day, visit the Chester County Historical Society’s website, or contact Alaina McNaughton, CCHS's National History Day Coordinator, at nhdcoord@chestercohistorical.org.
HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE PHOTO CONTEST DETAILS: All photos must be submitted by midnight on Thursday, April 25, 2019.
- Photos may be taken with any equipment, including smartphones, then altered or enhanced using filters and apps. Photos taken in the 12 months before the deadline for submission are eligible.
- Send one digital entry per email to PhotoContest@ChesterCoHistorical.org. Please send .JPG, .PNG, or .TIF files only.
- Include your name, your grade and school, your parent’s name, your address, your parent’s phone number, and (IMPORTANT) identify your photograph’s street location or name of the building in West Chester. Entries without complete contact information may be disqualified. Include 2-3 sentences explaining why you liked your photo, how you took it, or what attracted you to this site.
- Entrants retain full copyright ownership of their images, but agree to allow the contest sponsors to feature submitted images in any publication, website, and/or any promotional material related to the contest.
PRIZES & RECOGNITION: A cash prize of $25.00 will be awarded the first place winner in each category. Second place, third place, and honorable mention awards receive certificates. All award winners will receive their prizes and be recognized at the May 2019 West Chester Borough Council meeting for Historic Preservation Month. Winning and Honorable Mention photos will be featured in a virtual gallery on DowntownWestChester.com.
-----
NATIONAL HISTORY DAY LINKS
PARKING
Your best option for parking in downtown West Chester is the long-term parking at the Chestnut Street Parking Garage, Chestnut & Walnut Streets, across from the Chester County Historical Society. Park as long as you want and have no fear of getting an overtime parking ticket. Parking is free at the meters on Saturday until 5pm. Go to the Parking Tab for details. Download the updated downtown parking map (PDF).
***********
While visiting West Chester, explore the downtown with its outstanding historical structures dating back to the colonial period. Browse at the many shops and dine in the restaurants.
---
The West Chester Business Improvement District is a proud sponsor of National History Day which believes student interpretation of our rights and responsibilities will lead to a better understanding of our place in history. Contact Malcolm Johnstone at 610-738-3350 with any questions.
