Florida History Day statewide winners are set to represent Florida at the National History Day (NHD) contest in College Park, Maryland on June 9–13. These students will compete against students from 55 NHD affiliate programs from all 50 states and around the world.
“I want to wish the best of luck to the bright and talented students who are representing Florida at the National History Day contest,” said Florida Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee. “I also want to congratulate every student who participated in Florida History Day, as well as thank the teachers and parents who supported them.”
Students, teachers, and parents gather at the annual Florida History Day Award Ceremony.
More than 55,000 students from around Florida participated in Florida History Day this year and the top entries from each county competed at the state contest in Tallahassee.
At the Florida History Day state contest, more than 1,000 middle and high school students presented award-winning research in a variety of mediums including documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances, and websites. The top two placements of each category were invited to represent Florida at the NHD contest.
Listed below are the students who are representing Florida at NHD. A full listing of Florida History Day state contest winners is available on the Florida History Day website here.
STUDENTS REPRESENTING FLORIDA AT NATIONAL HISTORY DAY CONTEST
Broward
Jr. Group Performance
Civil War Wives
Sophia Abati and Cate Zeiger, American Heritage School
Jr. Individual Performance
Out of the Dark and Into the Light: The Tragedy and Triumph of Helen Keller
Emma Schenker, City/Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School
Sr. Individual Performance
Alice Paul: Brazen Suffragist and the Greatest Triumph for Women in America
Jessica Chang, City/Pembroke Pines Charter High School
Escambia
Sr. Individual Performance
Swallowing the Lion’s Pride: A Requiem in Recompense
Max Mateer, Pensacola High School
Sr. Historical Paper
The Publication of the Pentagon Papers: Triumphs of the Free Press vs. Tragedy of Casualties and Distrust
Ashley Wu, Pensacola High School
Hernando
Sr. Individual Documentary
Women in Revolt: The Enduring Legacy of the Newsweek Lawsuit
William An, Frank W. Springstead High School
Sr. Individual Exhibit
The Black Swallow of Death: Eugene Bullard’s Triumph in the French Military and the Tragedy of American Racism
Abigail Kizer, Weeki Wachee High School
Hillsborough
Sr. Individual Exhibit
Connecting to Victory!
Sarah Robison, Homeschool
Leon
Jr. Group Exhibit
Loss Comes to Light: Holocaust Twin Testing
Carly White and Orie White, Deerlake Middle School
Jr. Individual Exhibit
The Great Fire of London
Sukeerth Goly, Fairview Middle School
Marion
Jr. Individual Documentary
The Bosnian War, A War Truly Forgotten
Rishit Shaquib, Howard Middle School
Orange
Jr. Individual Documentary
The Barbie Doll: A Toy That Changed the Nature of Play and Empowered a Generation of Young Girls
Sophie Schaked, Lake Highland Preparatory School
Osceola
Sr. Group Exhibit
The Tuskegee Syphilis Study Tragedy: A Triumph in Medical Morality
Baily Palmer, Peter Zeledon and Alondra Curet, Osceola County School for the Arts
Palm Beach
Individual Performance
Anne Frank and Miep Gies: The Triumph of Humanity over the Tragedy of War
Daniela Guarino, American Heritage School of Boca/Delray
Jr. Historical Paper
The Great Fire of London: Human Triumph in the Face of Disaster
Kai Gao, Loggers’ Run Community Middle School
Sr. Group Website
Zeal of the Broken: ZOB Resilience and Resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto
Julia Lubitz and Amanda Mickler, The King’s Academy
Jr. Group Exhibit
The Impact of the Atomic Bomb on Japan, WWII, and the World
Alex Heard and Zack Wooster, American Heritage School of Boca/Delray
Sr. Individual Documentary
AIDS in America: Triumph and Tragedy
Matias Civita, Spanish River Community High School
Sr. Group Website
The Forgotten Tragedy of Japanese-American Internment
Madison Evasius, Tyler Chin-Lenn and Mikayela Smith, The King’s Academy
Pasco
Jr. Individual Website
The Tragedy of the Triangle Factory Fire and the Triumph of American Worker Safety.
Maegan Smarkusky, Seven Springs Middle School
Sr. Individual Website
Monopolizing America’s Beauty: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Yosemite Indians
Mindy Do, Cypress Creek Middle/High School
Jr. Historical Paper
Tragedy in Disaster, Triumph for Every American Laborer – The Triangle Factory Fire
Frederic Bowen, Charles S. Rushe Middle School
Pinellas
Sr. Group Exhibit
Breaking the Chains
Jonathan Yacobi and Renee Jones, Largo High School
Jr. Individual Exhibit
Helen Keller
Alicia Rhinehart, Joseph L. Carwise Middle School
Sr. Historical Paper
Celebrating Historic Triumphs in the Midst of Tragedy: Ernie Pyle’s Quest to Honor the Infantry of WWII
Victor Xie, St. Petersburg High School
Sr. Individual Website
The Suez Crisis of 1956: Triumph & Tragedy in the Name of Economic Domination
Kasha Tyranski, St. Petersburg High School
Jr. Group Documentary
“Houston, We’ve Had a Problem Here”: The Triumph and Tragedy of Apollo 13
Emily Hayes and Riley Matthews, Dunedin Highland Middle School
Jr. Group Website
Marie Curie and the Discovery of Radium: A Life Dedicated To Science
Arista Athanassie, Kaiden Britz and Tina Gudovic, Plato Academy Charter School Tarpon Springs
Polk
Sr. Group Documentary
The South African Apartheid: Fighting for Equality
Elissa Andah and Arlene Nova, Haines City Senior High School
Santa Rosa
Jr. Individual Website
WW II’s Forgotten Fighters: Women Airforce Service Pilots
Whitney Bouk, Gulf Breeze Middle School
Sarasota
Jr. Group Website
Lands of the Free – Rediscovering America’s First Free Maroon Communities
Devin Gulliver and Quinn Gulliver, Pine View School
Sr. Group Documentary
Mendez v. Westminster Discrimination and School Desegregation
Ethan Schrock, Dominic Cuffaro and Andrew Moor, Sarasota Christian School
Seminole
Jr. Group Documentary
Marie Curie: A Trailblazer, A Scientist A Humanitarian
Kyra Henriques and Lucy Guo, Sanford Middle School
St. Johns
Sr. Group Performance
Tragedy on the Trail of Engineering Triumph: A Panama Canal Flashback
Alan Michael, Joshua Pantano, Logan Graham and Daniel Fedchenko, Allen D. Nease Senior High School
Volusia
Jr. Group Performance
Triumph for Women during the Tragedy of War
Sydney Downey and Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Saint Brendan Catholic School
Walton
Sr. Group Performance
Triumph or Tragedy?: The Case of the Lowell Mill Girls
Reagan Wells, Sierra Smith, Mary Katherine Rookis and Knoxye Grinstead, Seacoast Collegiate High School
About Florida History Day
Florida History Day is part of National History Day (NHD). NHD was established in 1974 to promote history in the classroom by offering students the means and encouragement to research people, ideas, and events of the past. The 2018–19 theme is Triumph and Tragedy in History. After analyzing and interpreting the information they have gathered, students present their findings in a paper, exhibit, performance, documentary, or website. This year, 55,871 students and 986 teachers in 32 counties were involved. For more information visit: floridahistoryday.com.
