OKLAHOMA CITY — Dozens of Oklahoma students won first, second or third place in the Oklahoma National History Day (OkNHD) competition at the Oklahoma History Center. Students in 6th through 8th grades competed on May 1. Students in 9th through 12th grades competed on May 2. Students qualified for the state competition after winning at one of seven regional competitions across Oklahoma. Some of the winners move on to the national competition in June.
National History Day is a highly regarded academic program that is student-driven and fosters critical thinking. The cross-curricular program meets Oklahoma standards for social studies and other subjects. This is the 50th year of National History Day.
OkNHD is project-based learning that focuses on historical topics related to a theme. Students conduct extensive primary and secondary research through libraries, archives, museums and historic sites. After analyzing and interpreting their sources, students draw conclusions about their topic’s significance in history before presenting their work in original papers, exhibits, performances, websites and documentaries. Student projects are entered into competitions in the spring at regional, state and national contests, where professional historians and educators evaluate them.
Junior Division Winners
Cautionary. Revolutionary. Luminary. George Washington’s Leadership Against Smallpox
Gretchen Condrey
Sophia Freeman
Emma Mourer
Morrison Elementary School
Teacher: Lori Stuever
Second Place
Friends and Fellow Citizens: How One Document Changed the Course of American Government
Lindsey Cunningham
Kenedy McGehee
Leah Christman
Centennial Middle School
Teachers: Jennifer Anthony and Nicole Bennett
First Place
Sipuel VS Oklahoma: A Landmark Case for Educational Rights
Khushi Mody
Ella Epperson
Classen Middle School of Advanced Studies
Junior Group Exhibit
Third Place
Germ Theory: The Roots of Medical Science
Amalia Alderman
Alaina Cormell
Stillwater Junior High School
Teacher: Jonas Burns
Second Place
Prohibition Takes A Left Turn
Rhett Luter
Kanin Smith
Morrison Elementary School
Teacher: Lori Stuever
First Place
Amber Alerts From Tragedy to Turning Point: Helping America’s Missing
Emberly Thompson
Mackenzie Day
Canton Elementary School
Teacher: Penny Heath
Junior Group Performance
Third Place
The Beginning of the American Red Cross
Elizabeth Edwards
Kenly Haworth
Canton Elementary School
Teacher: Dora Fuqua
Second Place
Tornado Eras... Turning Points In Storm Warnings
Lexi Kruse
Daydree Horne
Morrison Elementary School
Teacher: Lori Stuever
First Place
The Night Santa Claus Died: The Babb’s Switch Fire
Irilynn Jones
Keller Jones
Canton Elementary School
Teacher: Alicia Sanderson
Junior Group Website
Third Place
The Manhattan Project
Owen Wright
Luke Walden
Centennial Middle School
Teacher: Ruth Biggs
Second Place
The Navajo Code Talkers: The Secret Weapon
Mckinsey Franklin
Lyric Pattison
Centennial Middle School
Teacher: Ruth Biggs
First Place
The Guano Islands Act: Fertilizing American Influence
Taten Cervantes
Colton Mourer
Shad Dennis
Kinsley Sammons
Morrison Junior High
Teacher: Patty Sanders
Junior Individual Documentary
Third Place
The Secret War
Noah Moua
6th and 7th Grade Academy at Ben Franklin
Teacher: Valerie Aldridge
Second Place
The Beatles: How They Changed a Perspective Among American People
Kenneth Nguyen
All Saints Catholic School
Teacher: Pam Brown
First Place
Able Archer 83: A Turning Point in Cold War Diplomacy
Emily Woodring
Morrison Junior High School
Teacher: Patty Sanders
Junior Individual Exhibit
Third Place
Mary Anning: Paleontology Pioneer
Jozee Dilbeck
Morrison Junior High
Teacher: Patty Sanders
Second Place
Rosa Parks Fighting for Civil Rights
Macie Clark
Canton Elementary School
Teacher: Penny Heath
First Place
The Turning Point of the R.M.S. Titanic: The Sinking that Sparked Changes in Maritime Law
Amelia Lim
Deer Creek Middle School
Teacher: Carrie Walker
Junior Individual Performance
Third Place
Breaker Boys: How a Photograph Helped Change Child Labor in America
Noah Bjork
Canton Elementary School
Teacher: Alicia Sanderson
Second Place
Verdun: The Turning Point of World War I
Harrison Carroll
Summit Christian School
Teacher: Ellen Carroll
First Place
Accordion to Willy: A Personal History of William Higinbotham
Canton Elementary School
Liam Ross
Teacher: Alicia Sanderson
Junior Individual Website
Third Place
The Story Behind The First Tornado Warning
Taylor Long
All Saints Catholic School
Teacher: Pam Brown
Second Place
Abraham Lincoln: The Emancipation Proclamation
Gracie Malicott
All Saints Catholic School
Teacher:
First Place
The Smallpox Vaccine; Edward Jenner and the Evolution of the First Vaccine
Maggie Kershen
All Saints Catholic School
Teacher: Pam Brown
Junior Paper
Third Place
The Battle of Stalingrad
Enlil Bainbridge
Canton Elementary School
Teacher: Penny Heath
Second Place
From A Faint Glow to A Defined Beam: The First Discovery of Radiation Therapy in 1899
Izri Lam
Stillwater Junior High School
Teacher: Jonas Burns
First Place
The Integration of College Basketball
Mathias Sutton
Childers Middle School
Senior Division Winners
Senior Group Documentary
Third Place
The Murder of Emmett Till
Camden Lee
Allisyn Smith
Canton High School
Teacher: Penny Heath
Second Place
American Indian Religious Freedom Act: Protecting the Sacred
Toni Williams
Mckinley Robedeaux
Taleah Williams
Annie Kelly
Morrison High School
Teacher: Patty Sanders
First Place
The Heartbeat of History
Finley Chandler
Avery Estes
Meredith Leonard
Camille Winton
Oklahoma Christian School
Teacher: Christina Osborne
Senior Group Exhibit
Third Place
Route 66 The Mother Road
Maggie Clark
David Evans
Andrew Tautfest
Canton High School
Teacher: Penny Heath
Second Place
The Match Girls Strike: The Spark that Ignited New Unionism
Brooke Pope
Brooklyn Green
Canton High School
Teacher: Penny Heath
First Place
Lavender Menace: Turning Point in Women’s History
Addisyn Smith
Karington Hawk
Kinlee Hawk
Canton High School
Teacher: Penny Heath
Senior Group Performance
Third Place
Paycheck Discrimination Against Women
Brooklyn James
Thiarey Moreno
Kyristan McLoud
Katlyn Piatt
Hinton High School
Teacher: Kara Montgomery
Second Place
Murder or Mercy: Dr. Jack Kevorkian and a Turning Point in Medical Ethics
Alex Taylor
Kylie Spradling
Morrison High School
Teacher: Patty Sanders
First Place
John Brown: The Soul That Sparked A Civil War
Ella Buss
Coleson Brunet
Kate Jennings
Jesse Dean
Josiah Dean
Christian Family Academy
Teacher: Faith Buss and Julia Brunet
Senior Group Website
Third Place
Title IX and the Fight for Women’s Rights
Alexandra Ramirez
Alexandria Pack
Dove Science Academy Tulsa HS
Teacher: Stephen Frazier
Second Place
The Hindenburg Disaster
JD Wilson
Blake Phillippe
Adair High School
Teacher: Zachary Wilhite
First Place
Turning the Tides for the Environment: The Civilian Conservation Corps’ Efforts to Revitalize America Post Dust Bowl
Cait Prough
Addison Todd
Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics
Teacher: Michelle McCargish
Senior Individual Documentary
Second Place
The Jazz Age: How Jazz Music Helped African American’s Fight for Equality
Jonathan Hidalgo Rodriguez
Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics
Teacher: Michelle McCargish
First Place
DNA: Piecing Together Apples to Trees & Cars to Garages
Neha Kale
Classen High School of Advanced Studies
Teacher: Rushali Kale
Senior Individual Exhibit
Third Place
Battle of the Bulge: The Battle That Won the War
Cale Thompson
Summit Christian School
Teacher: Ellen Carroll
Second Place
From Vast Wasteland to Educational Tool: The Birth of Children’s Television Workshop
Hannah Hoffman
Canton High School
Teacher: Penny Heath
First Place
He Aimed for the Heart but Hit the Stomach: How Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle Changed History
Emma Hoffman
Canton High School
Teacher: Penny Heath
Senior Individual Performance
Third Place
She Hath Done What She Could: Carrying a Nation to Prohibition
Sisaly Hepner
Canton High School
Teacher: Penny Heath
Second Place
The Explosion That Changed America: The Oklahoma City Bombing’s Impact on Modern Safety
Logan Carroll
Summit Christian School
Teacher: Ellen Carroll
First Place
It’s About Time: The Hedy Lamarr Story
Bella Montgomery
Summit Christian School
Teacher: Ellen Carroll
Senior Individual Website
Third Place
A Formidable Force for Change: Women and Social Work in the Gilded Age
Jyoshikha Vundela
Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics
Teacher: Michelle McCargish
Second Place
Operation Mincemeat: Turning Point in the Invasion of Southern Europe
Peyton Castillo
Canton High School
Teacher: Penny Heath
First Place
Human Radiation Experiments: A Turning Point in Medical Ethics
Julia Chen
Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics
Teacher: Michelle McCargish
Senior Paper
Third Place
The Reagan Years: Changes in Society, Politics, and Economics
Berkeley Ulrey
Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics
Teacher: Michelle McCargish
Second Place
“A Moral and Ethical Nightmare”: The Tuskegee Syphilis Study and How It Changed the Course of Human Research
Emmy Xiang
Stillwater Junior High School
Teacher: Jonas Burns
First Place
“A Land Without Memories is a Land Without History:” The UDC and the Creation of Southern Memory
Wesley Horn
Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics
Teacher: Michelle McCargish
Special Prizes
OMA – Best Exhibit Design Award
Group Exhibit: Prohibition Takes a Left Turn
Individual Exhibit: He Aimed for the Heart but Hit the Stomach: How Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle Changed History
James DeLoss Dailey Living History Award – Best Use of Family History
Group Performance: Tornado Eras
Individual Exhibits: Battle of the Bulge: The Battle That Won the War
Washington Library at George Washington’s Mount Vernon – George Washington Leadership Prize
Group Documentary: Cautionary. Revolutionary. Luminary. George Washington’s Leadership Against Smallpox
Paper: Navigating the Waters of Change: George Washington’s Leadership and Pivotal Crossing that Shaped American History
GRDA – Best Environmental Project Award
Individual Website: The Great Depression
Group Website: Turning the Tides for the Environment: The Civilian Conservation Corps’ Efforts to Revitalize America Post Dust Bowl
SHPO – Historic Preservation Award
Group Website: Route 66
Group Exhibit: Route 66 The Mother Road
League of Women Voters Award
Group Performance: A New Hope in a Fight For Equality
OERB Energy Project Award
Individual Website: Boom and Bust: Oil and Its Influence on Indian Territory
Group Performance: The Osage Reign of Terror: A Case for Indigenous Equality
OKCHE – Oklahoma Council for History Education
Individual Exhibit: Sipuel v. Board of Regents: Turning Point Towards Equality in Education
Paper: Learning to Learn in the 1800s
Oklahoma Humanities – Indian Boarding School Project Prize
Group Documentary: American Indian Religious Freedom Act: Protecting the Sacred
John Mark Rhea History Day Prize
Group Documentary: The Murder of Emmett Till
Teacher of the Year
Ellen Carroll
The 2024 Oklahoma National History Day competition was supported in part by a grant from the Bezos Family Foundation. The grant helped cover professional development workshops for teachers and strengthen NHD programs.
The Oklahoma History Center is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, National Archives and is an accredited member of the American Alliance of Museums. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.