Twelve Whitehall National History Day competitors were recognized for their performances Saturday, April 25 at the NHD state competition at Saginaw Valley State University, and five will participate in the national competition in June.
“I couldn’t be more proud of how all of our students represented the White Lake area,” said Whitehall NHD coach Jan Klco. “I’m excited that so many were recognized for their hard work and can hardly wait to take some to the NHD National Contest at the University of Maryland in June. Thank you to everyone in the community who helped them succeed.”
This year's NHD state competition featured a record 590 students. This year’s theme, “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History,” celebrated the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and students researched a wide variety of related topics. Whitehall students faced stiff competition, with runoffs in all but two categories.
One national qualifier was Izzy Causie, a seventh-year NHD team member who qualified for nationals for a fourth straight year in the individual website category for her site, Buckle Up: The Seat Belt that Revolutionized Automotive Safety Standards. Causie's site investigated the origins of the three-point seat belt, which changed manufacturing priorities, national and state safety standards, and society’s attitudes. In the process, she consulted several government documents, technical reports and articles, and interviewed individuals with a variety of perspectives.
Sophomore Beth LeaTrea became a third year national contest qualifier with a Senior Individual Performance inspired by her great-great uncle, Dr. Hiram Marshall, an early specialist in cardiac catheterization. Her entry, Getting to the Heart of it All: The Revolutionary Development of Cardiac Catheterization, explored the radical concept of treating many heart conditions using a very small tube to the heart, rather than conducting the much riskier open-heart surgery.
Whitehall National History Day competitors, from left, Aria Lenoir, Adi Hernandez and Lucy Mann received 2nd place in the Youth Group Exhibit category at the April 25 state meet, and were 3 of the 12 Whitehall competitors to be recognized. Courtesy Photo
Freshmen Alexandra Risthouse and Annabelle George earned a spot at nationals for the first time and did so in a runoff in the Senior Group Exhibit category. Their exhibit, Lighting a Flame: Matchgirls Ignite Revolution in Factory Conditions, was inspired by the 2022 movie, Enola Holmes 2. The duo dug into the British National Archives and spoke to a descendant of one of the strike leaders to develop their creative display about the successful London strike of 1888.
Another runoff winner was seventh-grader Kallie Sapp, who will also compete at her first nationals in the Junior Individual Performance category with her entry, Prologue or Epilogue? How the Chernobyl Explosion Revolutionized Modern Radiation Science. Kallie’s research included a memo from then-head of the KGB, Yuri Andropov, minutes from a Politburo meeting two days after the explosion, a technical report from the International Atomic Energy Agency, and a personal interview with a woman who lived less than 200 miles from the Chernobyl reactor at the time of the explosion.
Several Youth Division competitors performed well, too. A trio of fifth-graders - Adi Hernandez, Aria Lenoir, and Lucy Mann - took second place in the Youth Group Exhibit category with their entry, Susan B. Anthony: A Revolutionary in Voting Rights. A highlight of their research was an interview with one of Miss Anthony’s cousins, who shared fascinating stories and showed them several Anthony artifacts.
Four Youth Division students won special awards and received cash prizes. Fifth-graders Kobe Freiheit, Easton Raymo, and August Redmon won the award for Best Entry on Naval or Maritime History with their Group Exhibit, The Attack on Pearl Harbor: The Reaction that Changed the Outcome of World War II. Evelynn Butler, also in fifth grade, won the Adler Award for Best Entry on Women's History with her Individual Exhibit, Alice Paul: Striking for a Vote.
