Following a successful state conference, six competitors from the history fair qualified for nationals at University of Maryland, College Park, running June 14-18. This achievement highlights students from across the country who advanced from regionals and state-level contests to showcase their projects based on this year’s theme, ‘Revolution, Reaction Reform in History.’
“History fair is one of the main things I’ve been doing since freshman year,” senior Nanditha Sharath said. “I love how I get the chance to research, meet professionals in interviews and build a tangible project at the end of the year.”
Led by sponsor Rhett Carter, history fair, associated with the National History Day program, is an academic competition where students in grades 6-12 research historical topics based on the annual theme. Students can present their projects through documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances or websites.
“This year we researched the God committee,” senior Collin Nguyen said. “They were basically a group of people who decided which patients could receive treatment for kidney dialysis. It was huge around ethical and moral scandals because technically regular people like us shouldn’t be choosing which patients live or die, right?”
THD state competition was held on April 11 in Austin, hosted by the Texas State Historic Association at the Bullock Texas State History Museum and the University of Texas at Austin. Students competed in five categories: Exhibits, Websites, Papers, Performances and Documentaries.
“I think our team works well together,” Sharath said. “We’ve been working together since sophomore year. We coordinate together and we understand each other very well.”
This year, the school achieved success at the state competition, led by a group of standout seniors. Arko Barua, Arya Gurumukhi, Amrutha Veeramaneni, Nguyen and Sharath secured first place overall in the Group Website category. Additionally, senior Ana Spiride earned second place overall for her Individual Exhibit.
“Nationals are not that stressful,” Nguyen said. “Because, you already made it to nationals, I mean it’s okay if you [don’t] place, you get the opportunity to explore another state for a bit.”
The National History Fair contest is a five-day academic competition held annually in June. It brings together top student researchers from all 50 states, U.S. territories and international schools to showcase their projects in chosen categories. These six award winners will join the elite ranks students recognized at national level.
“I’m looking forward to having a lot of fun at nationals since we’re already there,” Nguyen said. “I feel like not a lot of people know about this, because our trip is fully funded by the school, and it’s like four days of us exploring DC, sometimes even other cities close to it.”
This organization impacted on students by helping them improve their scholastic performances and gain confidence through public speaking. According to Texas State Historical Association, Director of Education for TSHA and State Texas Fair Coordinator claims the students participating in the fair are going to be able to use these learned skills for their future careers.
“The thing about history fair is that there’s so much freedom in what you do,” Sharath said. “You can research anything as long as you find a way to connect it back to the theme, you have the freedom to do almost anything.”
