‘Breaking Barriers’ for National History Day

A group of Bronxville High School freshmen and sophomores have advanced to the 2020 Lower Hudson Valley Regional National History Day Competition, which will be held on March 7 at St. Thomas Aquinas College. They advanced after being named winners in one of several categories at the schoolwide competition on Jan. 29. 

Having conducted extensive historical research over several months, the students’ authentic work focused on this year’s National History Day theme of “Breaking Barriers in History.” Their work is displayed in one of five ways – paper, website, documentary, performance or exhibit. As part of their research, many of the students contacted experts in the field, analyzed the evidence and data they collected and developed theses that addressed the theme. 

At the regional competition, the students will be interviewed by professors and scholars and articulate what they’ve discovered through their historical research. Winners in that competition will advance to the state competition and ultimately to the national finals. 

Congratulations to the following students who have advanced to the regional competition in these categories: 

Documentary (Individual): 
•    Sophie Hartmann (Beethoven: Deafness That Would Shatter Sound)
•    Amelia Grullon (Chinese Migration to the Caribbean: Forming New Relations and Defining the New Slavery)
•    Finn Sands (Catholics vs. Protestants; King Charles I Caused Tension Between Catholics and Protestants in the 1600s That Lasted for Future Centuries in Ireland) 

Documentary (Group): 
•    Olivia Cevasco and Rowan Baror (Mercury 13: Breaking Barriers for Female Astronauts at Nasa)
•    Spencer Blumenreich, Peter Coquillette and Andrew Knox (The British SAS: The Evolution of Conventional Warfare to Efficient Special Operations)
•    Bridget Finley, Milly Koenig, Shay Sipple and Kiki Tormey (The History of the London Underground: The Evolution of Transportation and Technology) 

Website (Individual): 
•    Teresa Markola (De Stijl: A New Beginning)
•    Conner Huang (Bruce Lee: 李小龙)
•    Kelly Baclija (The Hungarian Revolution of 1956) 

Website (Group): 
•    Erin Foley, Caroline Ircha, Carmen Phillips, Molly Stoltz and Alice Vranka (Breaking Bondage and Barriers: Iqbal Masih’s Fight to End Child Slavery)
•    Edmond Hannigan, Alexander Kupersmith and Theodore Veru (A Nation Built From Slavery: Toussaint L’Ouverture and his Role in Liberating Haiti) 
•    Wilder Burgin, Alec Davis, J.W. Henningson, Jack Martin and Charles Van Tienhoven (Crusading Rhetoric – The Language and Events That Defined the First Crusade) 

Research Paper: 
•    Aarna Pal-Yadav (Sushruta’s Advancement of Surgery in Ancient India: Breaking Barriers of Power in Religion, Class, and Gender, c. 800-600 BCE) 
•    Lily Jebejian (Gender Barriers in Women’s Soccer) 
•    Isaiah Weir (Chemical Weapons in WWI) 

Performance (Individual): 
•    Alex Rice 

Performance (Group): 
•    Jake Berman and Hudson Zivic
•    Isabela Fenner, Hope Hershberg and Remi Mellinghoff 

Exhibit (Individual): 
•    Jack Evans (Martin Luther: The Original Whistleblower) 
•    Thomas Garofalo (Larry Bird and Magic Johnson) 
•    Jed Donohue (The Apollo Missions) 

Exhibit (Group): 
•    Eliza Brennan, Elizabeth Burnell, Maya Madhavan, Bethany Lee and Sydney Tuck (The Arpilleristas of Chile: Breaking Barriers Through Stitches of Protest)
•    Mia Berkolayko, Zana Gjoni, Lisa Gorbunova, Avery Jones and Julia Narkaj (Let My People Go!: The Refuseniks and Fighting for Their Freedom) 
•    Joseph Cutaia and Jeremy Freeman (The Fighting Maroons of Jamaica)