February 28, 2024
By MEALAND RAGLAND-HUDGINS
Rutherford County Schools
Several young historians will compete at the Tennessee History Day Contest this spring after strong showings at the regional contest hosted by Middle Tennessee State University.
Students from Blackman Middle, Central Magnet School, LaVergne High, Rocky Fork Middle, Siegel High and Smyrna Middle took part in the Middle Tennessee Regional History Day Contest on Feb. 23. “Turning Points in History” is the theme of this year’s contest. Students were allowed to choose one of five ways to present their research: exhibit, performance, website, paper and documentary.
Projects were divided into junior (middle school) and senior (high school) groups. Those finishing in the top three are listed below, with the top two finishers advancing to the state level on April 20.
Junior Group Documentary
First: The Creation of the Atom Bomb by Dawson Mattingly and Jaxson Remple, Blackman Middle
Second: How 9/11 Upgrades Airport Security by Sebastian Mendoza and David Rodriguez Medina, Smyrna Middle
Third: P.T. Barnum and His Effect on the World by Santiago Oviedo Mendez, Madison Montalvo and Kai Mount, Blackman Middle
Junior Group Performance
First: Ted Talk: Influence of the Internet by Akila Meganath, Natalie Jessey and Anika Meganath, Blackman Middle
Junior Group Website
First: Hurricane Mitch and Its Effects on U.S. Immigrants by Olivia Christopher and Edwin Rich, Rocky Fork Middle
Junior Individual Documentary
First: BalloonFest ’86 by Sutton Hammond, Blackman Middle
Junior Individual Exhibit
Second: How Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet Contributed to the Invention of American Sign Language by Esther Moo, Smyrna Middle
Junior Individual Paper
Second: The Banking Crisis of the Great Depression by Caitlin Frazier, Rocky Fork Midde
Senior Group Documentary
Third: Bloody Sunday by Arianna Tama, Reagan Turnbow and Kwatema Sarpong, Central Magnet
Senior Group Exhibit
Second: The Silk Road: Path of Trade by Natalie Blaess, Ava Edwards and Paige Seaborn, Central Magnet
Third: Dada: The Crux of Artistic Expression by Eryn Herod and Amana Fernandez, Central Magnet
Senior Group Website
Second: Vietnam: A Turning Point in History by Ella Harrell and Tessa Long, Central Magnet
Third: The Discovery of Penicillin by Kirsten Pike and Addison Stagner, Central Magnet
Senior Individual Documentary
First: Red, Meet Reich by Gaven Burrows, Central Magnet
Senior Individual Paper
First: Silent Spring: How Rachel Carson Galvanized the Modern Environmental Movement by Emily Taylor, Central Magnet *Also awarded Best Project Exploring a Turning Point in Modern U.S. Political or Public Policy History, sponsored by the Albert Gore Research Center
Senior Individual Website
Second: 1917 Stike in Petrograd by Lang McDaniel, Central Magnet
Third: America’s Invention of Nuclear Warfare by Ava Ward, Central Magnet
Educators serving as National History Day sponsors are Ariel Jones, Blackman Middle; Clay Burns and Brandon Eldridge, Central Magnet; Andrea Morris, La Vergne High; Teri Beck, Rocky Fork Middle and Smyrna Middle; and Nardine Eryan, Siegel High.
The contest was sponsored by MTSU and its College of Liberal Arts and Center for Historic Preservation and the Tennessee Historical Society.