News Releases

News Releases

16 Local Students Advance to Nationals in History Competition | April 30, 2018

Middle and High School Students Will Compete in Maryland in June

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – Sixteen local students will be advancing to the national level in the National History Day competition, a history challenge organized locally by the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. These students competed in a field of nearly 600 students in the state competition on the University of Missouri campus on April 28 to showcase their work. These state finalists represented the best of more than 5,000 middle school and high school students that competed in National History Day regional competitions throughout Missouri.

At the state contest, students presented original research projects in one of five competition categories: documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances, or websites. Participants vied for the opportunity to be one of 60 students representing the Show-Me State at the national competition in College Park, Maryland, in June.

The following local students placed either first or second in their divisions, earning them a spot to compete on the national level:

  • Ariel ChenClaire Manuel and Lucia Umbreit of Discovery Middle School in Liberty placed first for the exhibit titled “Integrating the Armed Forces: The Stroke of a Pen That Changed the Military.”
  • Addison Vallier of Liberty Middle School placed second for the individual performance titled “St. Maria Skobtsova: Love in Defiance of Death.”
  • Kiana Terrell and Kora Wiedmaier of Discovery Middle School in Liberty placed first for the junior group performance titled “Newsies Stop the World: The Newsboy Strike of 1899.”
  • Catherine Franklin and Samuel Alexander of Liberty Middle School placed first for the website titled “Harry S. Truman: The Senator from Pendergast.”
  • Riley Sutherland of Liberty North High School placed first for the senior individual performance titled “Tradition v. Toleration: An Epic Battle for Religious Freedom in Virginia.”
  • Nicole WagonerOlivia ZimmermanRachel Kim and Sabrina Madison of Liberty North High School placed first for the senior group performance titled “The Ratification and Repeal of Prohibition: The Impact of Carrie Nation on the Temperance Movement.”
  • Sienna Snead of Liberty North High School placed first for the senior individual documentary titled “‘Great Responsibilities’: The Containment Policies that Shaped the Cold War.”
  • Rachel Adger of Liberty North High School placed second for the senior individual website titled “A Controversial Compromise: The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.”
  • Aryonna Straws of Liberty High School placed first for the senior individual website titled “Separately Unequal: Compromise to Conflict in Brown v Board.”

Last year two local students went on to earn gold medals in the National History Day competition in Maryland.

The Truman Library Institute is the member-supported, nonprofit partner of the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, one of 14 presidential libraries of the National Archives. The Truman Library Institute draws on President Truman’s legacy to enrich the public understanding of history, the presidency and America’s unique form of government. This mission is achieved through the development and funding of world-class museum exhibits, a robust international research grant program, public forums and nationally acclaimed education programs serving more than 50,000 students and teachers each year. Learn more at TrumanLibraryInstitute.org.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Lacey Helmig
Director of Communications
Truman Library Institute
816-400-1217
lacey.helmig@TrumanLibraryInstitute.org