Orange County students made a strong showing at this year’s National History Day-California contest, fueled by some impressive submissions from Irvine schools.
In all, 18 local student projects emerged as elementary, junior or senior division champions at the statewide history competition, and 15 of those entries were produced by students from the Irvine Unified School District. To put those numbers in perspective, Riverside County had the next highest total with seven championship projects.
“Our students did an amazing job at the National History Day-California contest,” said Orange County Department of Education Coordinator Julie Hull, who oversees the contest locally. “Their hard work, dedication and passion for history is truly inspiring. We are incredibly proud of what they have accomplished and will be cheering on those who are now headed to the National Contest.”
Every year, National History Day contests attract more than half a million students in grades four through 12 at the local, county, state and national levels. Working individually or in teams, participants thoroughly research historical topics over the course of several months before submitting original projects, including exhibits, papers, documentaries, websites, posters, performances and even podcasts.
For this year’s contest, the theme was “Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas.”
Heading to the National Contest
After competing in a two-day county competition hosted by the Orange County Department of Education in March, 71 local projects and the students behind them made their way to the state contest in mid-April, and 48 of those entries were ultimately named finalists. In addition to the 18 that were crowned as champions, 21 other projects earned runner-up or honorable mention recognition, or received special awards.
Top-scoring entries included a group documentary on Mister Rogers from Sierra Vista Middle School, a poster on the significance of space exploration made by students at Acaciawood Preparatory Academy, and a podcast on the Selma to Montgomery marches produced by students from University High School.
State champions from the junior and senior divisions — those are the winners from middle and high schools, and Orange County has 13 of them — are now eligible to compete at the National Contest in Maryland. More on that in a moment.
Students weren’t the only ones earning accolades at NHD-CA. Teacher Hector Gamboa of Venado Middle School in Irvine was honored as the state’s Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year for the junior division. Along with receiving $500, he’s now in the running for national recognition and a cash award of $10,000. Across the country, teachers from 47 NHD affiliate programs were similarly nominated for the distinction, which spotlights educators who use creative methods to engage students and help them make exciting discoveries about the past.
About 1,400 students from 244 schools in 24 counties participated in California’s National History Day contest, which took place at Sacramento State from April 14 through April 16. More than 230 historians, educators and other professionals were on hand to interview students and evaluate their work.
The 2023 National Contest will once again be held at the University of Maryland, College Park, with judging on June 12 and June 13. Winners, including the Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year award recipient, will be announced at a ceremony on June 15.
Here’s the list of NHD-CA contest champions from Orange County, as well as those who picked up special awards:
Orange County Elementary Champions (Grades 4-5)
Elementary Group Poster
“Beyond the Space Race: The Space Frontier’s Lasting Significance”
Poiema Bernier and Lucas Menendez
Acaciawood Preparatory Academy
Teachers: Karen Kayekjian and Noemi Quinones
Elementary Individual Podcast
“Hela Cells: New Frontiers in Biomedical Research and Privacy Laws”
Quinn Han
Olinda Elementary School, Brea-Olinda Unified School District
Teacher: Jill Berrner
Elementary Group Podcast
“Sputnik: The Frontier to Space Exploration”
Aaron Lee, Arjun Rajkumar, Liam Ruidera and Riley Siocheng
Olinda Elementary School, Brea-Olinda Unified School District
Teacher: Jill Berrner
Orange County Junior Champions (Grades 6-8)
Junior Individual Documentary
“Germ Theory: How an Idea Revolutionized the Medical Field”
Mahima Wuppalapati
Beacon Park K-8 School, Irvine Unified School District
Teacher: Jonathan Millers
Junior Group Documentary
“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: Mister Rogers, a Pioneer in Children’s Education”
Aashrita Atmakur and Andie Arkun
Sierra Vista Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
Teachers: Millers Jonathan and Lianne Linck
Junior Group Exhibit
“123 Sesame Street: The Frontier of Childhood Growth”
Anna Cao and Jennica Alixes
Sierra Vista Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
Teachers: Millers Jonathan and Lianne Linck
Junior Individual Podcast
“Charge It: Breaking the Economic Frontier Through the Diners Club Charge Card”
Jeshwin Chettiar
Venado Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
Teachers: Hector Gamboa and John Beckman
Junior Individual Website
“A Breath of Fresh Air: How California Became the Birthplace of Frontiers in Clean Air”
Frankie Holland
Irvine Virtual Academy, Irvine Unified School District
Teachers: Sandra Komara
“Artists and Activists: Jazz Musicians Leading the Civil Rights Movement”
Jacob Dinh
Venado Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
Teachers: Hector Gamboa and John Beckman
Junior Group Website
“Negotiating Identity at the Frontier: The Role of the Carlisle School in Cultural Assimilation”
Ansh Gosain and Matthew Lee
Sierra Vista Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
Teachers: Millers Jonathan and Lianne Linck
“Amy Tan: Pioneering the Chinese American Experience in Western Media”
Zixuan Cui, Yongjing Li and Isabelle Yang
Sierra Vista Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
Teachers: Millers Jonathan and Lianne Linck
Orange County Senior Champions (Grades 9-12)
Senior Individual Documentary
“Cam-Era: Gordon Parks, Confronting Frontiers to Show America to Itself”
Hannah Cho
Northwood High School, Irvine Unified School District
Teacher: Deanna Myers
Senior Group Documentary
“The Man Who United Two Frontiers: How Fritz Haber Killed Millions and Nourished Billions”
Ritieka Kumar and Moksha Kolli
Northwood High School, Irvine Unified School District
Teacher: Deanna Myers
Senior Individual Exhibit
“Edward Jenner’s Experimentation: Pushing the Frontier of Science and Transgressing Ethical Boundaries”
Baran Daliri
University High School, Irvine Unified School District
Teacher: Jane Koch
Senior Group Exhibit
“Maps to Apps: How the NAVSTAR GPS Advanced Frontiers in Satellite Navigation”
Philip Park, Kayla Fu, Sarie Kwak and Sean Yu
Northwood High School, Irvine Unified School District
Teacher: Deanna Myers
Senior Group Podcast
“The March on Selma; Pioneering Frontiers One Step at a Time”
Luba Al-khalili and Jonathan Rho
University High School, Irvine Unified School District
Teacher: Jane Koch
Senior Individual Website
“The Prague Spring: Pursuing Frontiers of Individual Liberty Under ‘Socialism with a Human Face’”
Ethan Chen
Northwood High School, Irvine Unified School District
Teacher: Deanna Myers
Senior Group Website
“‘There’s Blood on Those Grapes’: How the Delano Grape Strike Sprouted a Frontier for Working Conditions”
Rachel Kim and Bernice Hung
Portola High School, Irvine Unified School District
Teacher: Wind Ralston
Special Award Winners
California Foundation for History Education | BIPOC Women in History
“Amy Tan: Pioneering the Chinese American Experience in Western Media”
Zixuan Cui, Yongjing Li and Isabelle Yang
Sierra Vista Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
California Foundation for History Education | California Experience Documentary Prize
“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: Mister Rogers, a Pioneer in Children’s Education”
Aashrita Atmakur and Andie Arkun
Sierra Vista Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
Friends of NHD-CA | Elizabeth Avery Waring Award for Social Justice
“Motown Records: Pioneering Black Music Representation on the Billboard Charts”
Hailey Brennan
Sierra Vista Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
Friends of NHD-CA | Environmental History
“A Breath of Fresh Air: How California Became the Birthplace of Frontiers in Clean Air”
Frankie Holland
Irvine Virtual Academy, Irvine Unified School District
California Foundation for History Education | Labor History Prize
“‘There’s Blood on Those Grapes’: How the Delano Grape Strike Sprouted a Frontier for Working Conditions”
Bernice Hung
Portola High School, Irvine Unified School Disrict
Friends of NHD-CA | Medicine in History
“Germ Theory: How an Idea Revolutionized the Medical Field”
Mahima Wuppalapati
Beacon Park K-8 School, Irvine Unified School District
California Council for Social Studies | Social Justice and Diversity
“Title IX: Pioneering Access to Women’s Education and Athletics”
Sofia Jackson, Madison Khang, Kelli Toshima and Anna Yi
Sierra Vista Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
Law Office of Steven M. Olson | William E. Geary Award for Military History
“Clara Barton and the American Red Cross: Pioneering Frontiers in Veteran Healthcare”
Nagyung Cho
Northwood High School, Irvine Unified School District