Birchwood Students Soar at National History Day Districts
Birchwood’s 37 sixth through eighth grade students who took part in the National History Day District Contest garnered phenomenal results.
The competition held March 4, 2017 at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland History Center hosted 650 area students who conducted research based on the theme “Taking a Stand in History.” Out of 30 Birchwood projects, 19 qualified for advancement to the state contest at Ohio Wesleyan University on April 29.
In three categories Birchwood students swept first through third place:
Historical Paper
First - Jane Nilson, Kent State Shootings
Second - Connor Stanton, Sam Sheppard murder trial
Third - Zahra Janjua, Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female doctor in America
Individual Performance
First - Ehren Collins, a young resistance fighter in World War II
Second - Nadia Ibrahim, Wilma Rudolph
Third - Isabella Issa, Eleanor Roosevelt’s work on the Declaration of Human Rights
Individual Website
First - Shruthi Ravichandran, Japanese internment during World War II
Second - Rishav Roy, President Truman’s decision to drop the atom bomb
Third - Joshua Samulak, Ben Franklin’s successful diplomacy in France
Other award winners:
Group Performance
Third - Sophia Vlastaris & Stella Connelly, lunch counter sit-ins during Civil Rights Movement
Group Website
First - Thomas Gorenc & Paul Abou-Haidar, Operation Valkyrie
Second - Alex Day, Terek Nukta & Erhan Ali, battle of Stalingrad in World War II
Individual Documentary
Second - Dharma Nautiyal, black feminism
Third - Praveen, Thomas Paine and his inspiring writings during the American Revolution
Honorable Mention - Kabir Gulati, Christiaan Barnard and the first heart transplant
Group Documentary
Honorable Mention - Mira Kabbara & Naya Alsouss, the Little Rock Nine
Individual Exhibit
First - Sam Hessler, Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812
Third - Mostafa Mamoun, Miranda v. Arizona
Group Exhibit
Honorable Mention - Masa Tajour & Malak Mamoun, Brown v. Board of Education
Birchwood students were also awarded nine special prizes:
- Sam Hessler won the Americanism Award from the Sons of the American Revolution.
- Sam Hessler, Paul Abou Haidar, Thomas Gorenc, and Alex Massier received awards from the Cleveland Grays Armory Museum.
- Receiving cash prizes from the Early Settlers Association of the Western Reserve were Jane Nilson, Sam Hessler, Connor Stanton, and Alex Massier.
- The Maltz Museum of Jewish History awarded their grand prize to Ehren Collins.
For more details, visit the Western Reserve Historical Society website.
