The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) proudly announces 17 students, representing Bradie Shrum Elementary School and Salem Middle School, took top honors at the 2018 National History Day in Indiana (NHDI) state contest.
More than 500 Indiana students took part in the competition, Saturday, April 14, at Ivy Tech’s campus in downtown Indianapolis.
The 2018 national theme is “Conflict and Compromise in History,” and local students explored topics such as Morgan’s Raid, the Cuban missile crisis and the Salem witch trials. Three local students also qualified to the National Contest for National History Day (NHD).
All first- and second-place state finishers in each junior and senior category are eligible to attend the national competition, June 9 through 15, in College Park, Maryland. Salem Middle School students Matthew Hurst, Nicholas Garrett and Matthew Johnson took first place in the Junior Group Website category with their project, “Compromise through Writing: Robert F. Kennedy’s Work towards the Conflict of the Civil Rights Movement.”
The National Contest will be the final stage in a series of contests at state and regional levels. Students in grades four through 12 began this year’s National History Day journey by exploring a historical subject and then using their research to create a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance or website.
Students qualified to state by taking part in regional contests where volunteer judges worked in teams to evaluate projects and rank winners. All regional finalists advanced to the state contest, where students also had the chance to win special prizes for Indiana history topics.
NHDI is presented by the Indiana National Guard, The Richard W. and Irene Rooker Family Foundation, TCU Foundation, Vigran Family Foundation and Junior League of Indianapolis. For more information, visit www.indianahistory.org/historyday or call (317) 232-1882.
2018 NHDI State Contest Medalists*
*All first- and second-place winners in the junior and senior categories are eligible for the National Contest for National History Day. Third place winners serve as alternates.
Youth Group Documentary
1st place –”Bobby Kennedy: Speech to Calm Conflict”
Dawson Walker and Norberto Saez
Maplewood Elementary, Indianapolis
Youth Group Exhibit
1st place – “The Salem Witch Trials: Conflict of the Soul”
Julia Bowling, Lilli Gilstrap and Sophie Nolot
Bradie Shrum Elementary, Salem
2nd place – “Malcolm X: Guiding Through Conflict – Compromise Through Understanding”
Taylor Lucas and Kinzie Knaus
Brown County Intermediate, Nashville
3rd place – “The Vietnam Conflict”
Reya Snyder, Leauna Springer and Korabell Gilstrap
Bradie Shrum Elementary, Salem
Youth Individual Exhibit
1st place – “The Siege of Yorktown: The Battle That Shaped Our Nation”
Case Smith
Brown County Intermediate, Nashville
2nd place – “The Battle of the Bear Paw”
Kaleb Johnson
St. Anthony de Padua, South Bend
3rd place – “The Devil Made Them Do It”
Lilly VanNess
Brown County Intermediate, Nashville
Youth Group Performance
1st place – “Cuban Missile Crisis: The Conflict that Brought the World to the Brink of Nuclear War”
Brady Briscoe, Noah Deaton, Owen Martin and Japeth Webb
Bradie Shrum Elementary, Salem
Youth Group Website
1st place – “World War II”
Brandon Cornwell and Hunter Trainor
Bradie Shrum Elementary, Salem
Youth Individual Website
1st place – “Morgan’s Raid, Conflict and Compromise”
Nick Ingram
Bradie Shrum Elementary, Salem
2nd place – “The Civil War, Conflict and Compromise”
Gaven Mancine
Bradie Shrum Elementary, Salem
3rd place – “Women’s Baseball: Score One for Women”
Edith Overton
Maplewood Elementary, Indianapolis
Junior Group Documentary
1st place, National Qualifier – “Rwandan Genocide: 100 Days of Assassination”
Betsy Moore and Josie Smith
Batchelor Middle School, Bloomington
2nd place, National Qualifier – “RFK in Indianapolis: Subverting Conflict with Compassion”
Annadel Benedict and Iris Jordan
Zionsville Middle School, Zionsville
3rd place, Alternate – “American Civilian Life and Feminism During World War II”
Iris Bailey, Sarah Maniscalo, Evie Renninger and Elizabeth Rexing
Zionsville Middle School, Zionsville
Junior Individual Documentary
1st place, National Qualifier – “Eyeball to Eyeball: The Cuban Missile Crisis”
Bowen Basker
John Young Middle School, Mishawaka
2nd place, National Qualifier – “Loving V Virginia 1967: The Case that Changed History”
Tori Harper
Northview Middle School, Indianapolis
3rd place, Alternate – “The Execution of John Brown: The Spark of the Civil War”
Samuel Hammons
Westlane Middle School, Indianapolis
Junior Group Exhibit
1st place, National Qualifier – “Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady of the World”
Kaylee Ochoa and Rachel Doyle
Lakeview Middle School, Warsaw
2nd place, National Qualifier – “Hamilton’s Plan”
Elena Sullivan, Abby Rahn, Hannah Shapiro
Lakeview Middle School, Warsaw
3rd place, Alternate – “Before the American Revolution: Patriots vs. Loyalists”
Molly Southworth, Lucy Deetz and Maya Sturmer
Eastwood Middle School, Indianapolis
Junior Individual Exhibit
1st place, National Qualifier – “The Impact of Thermopylae”
Sam Winkler
Eastwood Middle School, Indianapolis
2nd place, National Qualifier – “Gideon v. Wainwright”
Alessandra Appel
Westlane Middle School, Indianapolis
3rd place, Alternate – “The Controvery of an Ugly Compromise: How the Compromise of 1850 Ultimately Led to the Civil War”
Danae Ingemi
Eastwood Middle School, Indianapolis
Junior Paper
1st place, National Qualifier – “The Scopes “Monkey” Trial: The Ongoing Battle Between Science and Religion”
Josephine Fields
Brown County Junior High School, Nashville
2nd place, National Qualifier – “The Speech that Calmed a City”
Liam Eifert
Our Lady of Lourdes, Indianapolis
3rd place, Alternate – “First Nations Women in Canada and the United States: Intermediaries in the New World Conflict”
Sarah Burns
John Young Middle School, Mishawaka
Junior Group Performance
1st place, National Qualifier – “The Conflicts and Compromises of Writer and Civil War Solider Ambrose Bierce”
Keller Bailey, Jason Benyousky, Ryun Hoffert and Geoffrey Hochstetler
Edgewood Middle School, Warsaw
2nd place, National Qualifier – “The Underground Railroad”
Kelsie Clay, Benjamin Gollaher, Alex Hartmann and Francis Miller
Helfrich Park STEM Academy, Evansville
3rd place, Alternate – “US Women in WWII”
Hannah Doran and Annie Zinck
Zionsville Middle School, Zionsville
Junior Individual Performance
1st place, National Qualifier –“The Treaty of Versailles: Problematic Compromise Leads to Greater Conflict”
Grace Zerbel
John Young Middle School, Mishawaka
2nd place, National Qualifier – “The Missouri Compromise of 1820: The Compromise That Aggravated an Already Impending War”
Kathryn Habel
John Young Middle School, Mishawaka
3rd place, Alternate –“And Then the Bombs Fell: The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki”
Elizabeth Ball
John Young Middle School, Mishawaka
Junior Group Website
1st place, National Qualifier – “Compromise Through Writing: Robert F. Kennedy’s Work Towards the Conflict of the Civil Rights Movement”
Matthew Hurst, Nicholas Garrett and Matthew Johnson
Salem Middle School, Salem
2nd place, National Qualifier – “John Wooden Slam Dunks Discrimination in 1947”
Clay Austin, Lexie Austin, Livie Austin
Brown County Intermediate, Nashville
3rd place, Alternate – “Japan at War in 1904”
Aidan Schilling and Bradley Arndt
Brown County High School, Nashville
Junior Individual Website
1st place, National Qualifier – “Dorothy Stratton, Leaders of the SPARS, Opened Up the Door for Women in the Coast Guard”
Amelia Ringor
Lafayette Central Catholic Jr./Sr. High School, Lafayette
2nd place, National Qualifier – “Countdown to Fate: The Burr-Hamilton Duel”
Bailey Darnell
John Young Middle School, Mishawaka
3rd place, Alternate – “The Knights of Columbus v. the KKK: A Conflict of Doctrine, Propaganda, and Violence”
Isaac Rentschler
Indian Springs Middle School, Columbia City
Senior Group Documentary
1st place, National Qualifier –“Chinese Discrimination: Angel Island Immigration Station”
Madison Arnold, Catherine VanMeter and Harley Weinburg
Columbia City High School, Columbia City
2nd place, National Qualifier – “The Evansville Prohibition Conspiracy”
Houston Rogers and Mercutio Reynard
EVSC Early College High School, Indianapolis
3rd place, Alternate – “The Tiananmen Riots: The Conflict and Lack of Compromise”
Andy Schmidt, Elijah Choi and Michael Zhang
Carmel High School, Carmel
Senior Individual Documentary
1st place, National Qualifier – “Cui Jian: Walking the Tightrope Between Censorship and Protest”
Raymond Mo
Carmel High School, Carmel
2nd place, National Qualifier –“The Troubles: Conflict and Compromise in Northern Ireland”
Zelton Kay
Brown County High School, Nashville
3rd place, Alternate – “Truman and the Atomic Bomb: Drop or Stop”
Dimitar Donovski
North Central High School, Indianapolis
Senior Group Exhibit
1st place, National Qualifier – “The Nigerian Civil War: The Consequences of Imperialism”
Abigael Mullens and Olivia Krall
Carmel High School, Carmel
2nd place, National Qualifier – “The Birmingham Children’s Crusade”
Katelyn Wang and Kate Munson
Carmel High School, Carmel
3rd place, Alternate – “Kamm & Schellinger: A History of the Indiana Brewery and the Conflicts it Faced”
Laurel Williams, Ruby Sanders and Ana Mercado
Carmel High School, Carmel
Senior Individual Exhibit
1st place, National Qualifier – “Compromise for Comfort Girls”
Chloee Robison
Brown County High School, Nashville
2nd place, National Qualifier – “WWI: Silent Night”
Joshua Brinkman
Carmel High School, Carmel
3rd place, Alternate – “The Conflict and Compromise of 1936 Olympics”
Carter Lindfelt
Carmel High School, Carmel
Senior Paper
1st place, National Qualifier – “Do No Harm Or Justice”
Margaret Robinson
North Central High School, Indianapolis
2nd place, National Qualifier – “Beyond The Quota: U.S. Policy Towards Jewish Immigration & Refugees Throughout World War II”
Emily Schwartz
North Central High School, Indianapolis
3rd place, Alternate – “The Vietnam Anti-War Movement: ‘The Times They Are a-Changin'”
Rachel Street
Silver Creek High School, Sellersburg
Senior Group Performance
1st place, National Qualifier – “Cuban Missile Crisis: A Compromise Between Nations”
Jonathan Riggins, Jared Brown, Silas Ratliff, Luke Sanders
Triton Central High School, Fairland
2nd place, National Qualifier – “A Fight for Educational Rights: The Ruby Bridges Story”
Jasmine Bennett, Lata’vian Simmons
EVSC Early College High School, Evansville
3rd place, Alternate – “Duesenberg Motor Company”
James Szalkie, Ajani Esters, Derek Garcia
Shortridge High School, Indianapolis
Senior Individual Performance
1st place, National Qualifier – “The Silesian Wars: A Timeless Portrayal of Conflict and Compromise”
Daniel Schrader-Dobris
Carmel High School, Carmel
2nd place, National Qualifier –“Suffragist Helen Gougar: Uncompromising Values in the Face of Conflict”
Evelyn Hoefer
Lafayette Central Catholic Jr./Sr. High School, Lafayette
3rd place, Alternate – “A Global Compromise: The Creation of the United Nations”
Rhiannon Laupp
EVSC Early College High School, Evansville
Senior Group Website
1st place, National Qualifier – “Jane Roe: A Lightning Rod for Controversy”
Olivia Blank, Eden Oddou and Ally Willson
Columbia City High School, Columbia City
2nd place, National Qualifier – “A Betrayal in Civil Rights: The Compromise of 1877”
Edward Dong, Vamsi Duvvuri
Carmel High School, Carmel
3rd place, Alternate – “Roe v. Wade and the Abortion Revolution”
Jane Hirschman and Michaela Geller-Montague
North Central High School, Indianapolis
Senior Individual Website
1st place, National Qualifier – “The Evansville Bingo Riot of 1945”
Kanin Bender
EVSC Early College High School, Evansville
2nd place, National Qualifier – “The Ashes of Books and Ideas: Conflict Over the Nazi Book Burning”
Briana Chen
Carmel High School, Carmel
3rd place, Alternate – “The Tale of Two Assassinations: The Conflicts and Compromises of RFK’s Speech on MLK”
Rhea Acharya
Carmel High School, Carmel
