Students from across the nation, and in some cases from international locations, recently came together to compete in the 2024 National History Day National Contest, held at College Park, Maryland. In that group were three students from Pulaski County Middle School, who were recognized for their project.
Carter Gill, Haven McKinney, and Roland Thompson, all PCMS students, earned their shot at national exposure in the Junior Group Exhibit category with the project titled, “USS Monitor: How a ‘Cheesebox on a Raft’ Revolutionized Naval Warfare.”
The group joined many of their fellow students from Pulaski County elementary schools, middle and high school at the District Competition, which was held in March at Radford University. In that competition, earning first place for their work. Their success continued with a first-place finish at the Virginia History Day State competition.
At the National competition, the Pulaski County trio were recognized with the Captain Ken Coskey Naval History Prize, sponsored by the United States Naval Institute.
Held June 9-13, the competition drew students and their exhibits from around the world. While you may expect entries from the continental United States, ranging from Florida to Washington and California to New York, entries were also turned in from as far as Delta Junction, Alaska and Waiakea High School in Mountain View, Hawaii. The name Pulaski was also represented by the Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Seoul International School in Korea, the Singapore American School in Singapore, and the Harvest Christian Academy in Mangilao, Guam, were some of the international entries.
The theme for 2024 was “Turning Points In History.” More than half a million students globally completed historical research for projects presented in one of the five categories. Those categories were documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website.
“Participating in the National History Day National Contest in 2024 is a special honor,” said NHD Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn. “As the organization celebrates its 50th anniversary, the students at the National Contest witnessed history. They have shown an incredible level of critical thinking, analysis, and research skills that will benefit them beyond their participation in NHD. I am proud of the students’ achievements this contest year and look forward to how they apply the skills they developed during their research to their future careers and lives.”
540 historians and education professionals served as judges for the students' work. More than 100 students took home cash prizes between $250 and $2,000 for superior work in a particular category of judging.
Pulaski County Middle School had a group compete in National History Day last summer, the first to do so since 2016. Pulaski County Public Schools have not had a student project recognized at National History Day since 1995.
About National History Day® (NHD): NHD is a non-profit organization based in College Park, Maryland, that seeks to improve the teaching and learning of history. The National History Day Contest was established in 1974 and currently engages more than half a million students every year in conducting original research on historical topics of interest. Students present their research as a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. Projects compete first at the local and affiliate levels, where the top entries are invited to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park. NHD is sponsored in part by the 400 Years of African American History Commission, The Better Angels Society, the Bezos Family Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Behring Global Educational Foundation, and the National Park Service. For more information, visit nhd.org.
