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 For 52 Iowa students, research, creativity, and hours of hard work culminated in the opportunity to showcase their efforts in the National History Day contest at the University of Maryland in College Park, June 15-19, 2008. National History Day (NHD) is an academic enrichment program for students in grades 6-12 that helps students learn about historical issues, ideas, people and events. The year-long academic adventure fosters students’ enthusiasm for learning and encourages them to use primary and secondary resources through libraries, archives, museums, oral history interviews, and historic sites to explore a topic of their choice related to an annual theme. After analyzing and interpreting their sources and drawing conclusions about their topics’ significance in history, students present their work in original papers, exhibits, performances, web sites and documentaries.
 Approximately 4,000 Iowa students participated this year in local and regional NHD contests. Regional winners advanced to state contest events at the Iowa Historical Building in Des Moines, and state winners earned the right to compete at the national event with approximately 2500 students from the United States, American Samoa, Guam, and Department of Defense schools in Europe. Gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded in each category, along with numerous special awards recognizing outstanding achievement.
The theme for 2008 was “Conflict & Compromise in History.” Yashila Permeswaran of Le Mars Community Middle School in Le Mars won the Gold Medal in the Junior Division Historical Paper category. Her entry was “The Women’s Army Auxillary Corps: A Compromise to Overcome the Conflict of Women Serving in the Army.” According to Yashila, “History is an amazing thing. You can carry what you’ve learned in History Day throughout your life!”
Katlyn Mace and Jaclyn Smith of Akron-Westfield Community School in Akron won the Gold Medal in the Junior Division Group Documentary. Their entry was “Clara Lemlich and the Uprising of the 20,000.”
“Overall, twenty-five of the 52 students representing Iowa were recognized in some way,” said Millie Frese, coordinator for NHD in Iowa. “I could not be happier. Iowans should be very proud of these amazing young people. Their research successes and extraordinary stories set them apart from others their age. What an amazing display of our state’s educational standards.” Through History Day, students learn that history is not just about the names and dates of people and events from long ago but about the stories that happen every day in communities around the world.
Kaitlin Armstrong, Haley Coyle, Emily Miller and Jayde Ostermyer earned a silver medal for their junior group performance, “Before Their Time: Child Labor Exposed.” North Tama Junior High School (Traer) students Chelsea Dinsdale, Jamie Pokorny, and Sydney Fehr earned second place in the junior group exhibit category.  Their exhibit, “The Wall that Heals,” examined the conflict and compromises surrounding the creation of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. The students visited the Wall while in Washington, D.C. for the national contest. Research never ends for NHD students engaged in their topic!
Three Iowa projects earned bronze medals. Rachel Meredith placed third with her junior individual exhibit, “Darkness Over Denmark: The Conflict and Compromise of a Righteous Nation.” Also placing third was a senior division group documentary created by Abhishek Vemuri, Max Hawkins, Rohit Iragavarapu, and Joshua Johnson of Central Academy in Des Moines. Their winning documentary, “The Corn Compromise: An Experiment in Agricultural Diplomacy,” focused on the relationship between Iowa farmer Roswell Garst and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev during the Cold War. “Until I did History Day, I never imagined that I would work this hard, research this deeply, or have as much fun as I did this year,” said Max Hawkins. Marshalltown High School students Holly Hassman and Melissa Hassman earned bronze for their senior division group exhibit, “Amish School Battle: A Clash Between Two Worlds.” According to Melissa, “I enjoyed delving into the stories behind the scenes of my topic. History is really interesting when you can look at primary sources as well as secondary accounts to better understand the big picture of a topic.”
Brianne Hassman and Lori Roseland, homeschool students from Marshalltown, placed 4th in the junior division group performance and earned the Junior Division Outstanding State Award for their performance, “The Language Proclamation: An Attempt to Unify Iowans Under a Common Language.”
Earning 5th place in the junior division historical paper category was Rebekah Frese from Miller Middle School in Marshalltown. Her paper, “Conflict in the Cornbelt: Milo Reno and the Farmers' Holiday Association,” also won the Special Award for History of Agriculture and Rural Life. “I was honored to receive this award,” said Rebekah. “I chose an agricultural topic because I wanted to learn more about the history of something that is important to Iowa.”
Kyle Graeser and Shane Melver of Nashua-Plainfield High School in Nashua won 5th place for their senior division group documentary, “The Comics Code Authority: Responding to Mass Media Criticism,” along with the Senior Division Outstanding State Award. “Just being here was worth all the hard work!” said Kyle. “This is awesome!”
Teachers and students interested in participating in National History Day may contact Millie Frese, State Coordinator for National History Day in Iowa at the Iowa Historical Building, 600 E. Locust, Des Moines, IA, 50319. Millie’s e-mail address is millie.frese@iowa.gov. Curriculum materials and rule books for the 2008-09 contest season theme, “The Individual in History: Actions and Legacies,” are available. Information is also available online at www.nhd.org.
In addition the medalists and special award winners, six additional Iowa students received honors at the 2008 NHD national competition:
6th Place
Alex Murphy
Le Mars Community Middle School, Le Mars, Iowa
Category: Junior Division Web Site
Title: The Cuban Missile Crisis: A Compromise Which Avoided Nuclear Conflict
6th Place
Katherine Tindall of Akron-Westfield Community School, Akron, Iowa
Category: Senior Division Individual Performance
Title: The Consequence for Lack of Compromise: Mary Mallon and the Public Health Department
7th Place
Jeralyn Westercamp
Kennedy High School, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Category: Senior Division Individual Exhibit
Title: When Honey was Money: A Cutting Conflict, A Court-Ordered Compromise
12th Place
Taylor Beitzel of North Scott High School, Eldridge, Iowa
Category: Junior Division Individual Exhibit
Title: Josef Mengele: Compromising the Law of Science
14th Place
Jared Mills
Homeschool, Marshalltown, Iowa
Category: Junior Division Individual Documentary
Title: Germany: A Divided Nation
14th Place
Kirstin Marriott
North Scott High School, Eldridge, Iowa
Category: Senior Division Individual Exhibit
Title: China Invades Tibet: Political and Cultural Conflicts with Broken Compromises
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