Tulare County (NHD) took place Thursday, February 12 at the Tulare County Office of Education. Following the theme “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History,” 230 Tulare County students presented over 100 projects showcasing their dedication and creativity. Of those projects, 47 finalists were selected and are eligible to advance to the state competition held May 1-3 in Sacramento.
Students felt a mix of relief and excitement from the competition. Lincoln Graves, a senior from University Preparatory High School (UPHS) in Visalia, said, “It was exhilarating!”
Graves won Best of Event for his project, “Black Tide: How California’s Worst Oil Spill Turned Beaches Black and the Nation Green,” in the Individual Performance – Senior Division category. As a finalist and Best of Event winner for the fourth year in a row, Graves had a mixed reaction to his final NHD at the county level.
“Sad it’s over but I’m glad we’ll be going to state again,” he said. Three other UPHS students were selected as finalists, with another student’s project selected as an alternate.
In the Senior Division for high school students, $200 scholarships were awarded by the Tulare County Historical Society for one project in each of the 10 categories. Two category scholarships went to students at UPHS and Tulare Union High School, while the other eight went to students from Dinuba High School.
Dinuba High School had a total of 17 finalists at the competition, with two projects also recognized as Best of Event winners. Heaven Gonzalez’s “From Silence to Reform: The Transformation of Mental Illness Care” (Individual Documentary) won Best of Event for its insightful look into the history of mental health. Teammates Isaiah Yepez and Jonathan Valadez also won Best of Event for “Smallpox Was” (Group Documentary), which explained the history of smallpox and its impact on modern vaccinations.
Also earning a Best of Event award was Evelyn Meza from Kings River Union Elementary School (Kingsburg). Meza competed in the Individual Performance – Junior Division. Her performance was entitled, “The Revolution, Reaction, and Reform of the Most Notorious Human Traffickers: The Poquianchis Sisters.” Meza is one of three Kings River finalists coached by Sophia Perez.
“All three are immaculate, I love working with all three of the students,” said Perez, who has been coaching for two years and is a National History Day alum.
National History Day (NHD) is a theme-based research program that showcases original presentations by students in grades 4-12 pertaining to historical issues, ideas, people, and events.
For a complete list of winners, visit https://www.tcoe.org/HistoryDay/Results.