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Photo courtesy of Mariacristina Calcagno (10-1)
Redlining. The Pullman Porters. The Harlem Ball Scene and the Harlem Globetrotters. The Little Rock Nine, Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Nichelle Nichols, Paul Cuffee, the Black Church. These are only a few of the 28 National History Day (NHD) projects presented by Masterman sophomores this year.
For those unfamiliar with NHD at Masterman, the project starts in tenth-grade African American History. Students choose their topic with just two parameters in mind: it must align with the annual NHD theme—this year, “Frontiers in History,”—and it must relate to African American history. Then, from the first days of school, all tenth-graders delve into researching and writing a paper that argues how their topic aligns with the NHD theme. The final class deadline in mid-December, just before winter break, brings sighs of relief and beams of accomplishment. Having met that milestone, a new discussion begins: do you want to continue your research and create a project for competition?
Those who answer “yes” embark on a journey to refine their research and, for many, develop a new project. Weekly meetings ensue at Thursday high-school lunch under the guidance and supervision of Ms. Taylor, who matches each student with an 11th- or 12th-grade NHD veteran serving as a volunteer mentor and consistently checks in on the student’s progress. The 10th-grade history teachers select four students whose papers will be revised and submitted, while the remaining students choose from other options to develop their projects: a documentary, website, performance, or exhibit. This year, a whopping 35 tenth graders took the project route, an investment that would then count as their final exam grade in May.
The students participated at NHD Philly in March at the National Constitution Center, presenting their project to a small group of judges in a ten-minute interview. Those who placed first, second, or third place—or in some cases, were runner-ups—could attend NHD States at the University of Scranton on the weekend of April 21-22; Masterman brought a team of 23 students. After interviews and a brief waiting period, the overnight trip ended in a large gymnasium, with an awards ceremony that announced who would take home special prizes and who would continue to NHD Nationals at the University of Maryland in June.
The reactions to the NHD project experience were mixed. Casie-Elle Saint-Pierre (exhibit, 10-3) remarked, “It just went on and on and on until it didn’t!” while Cyrus Fisher (performance, 10-2) described it as “[a] history project competition lasting significantly more than a day” and Jessica Zheng (exhibit, 10-4) noted, “it was so exhausting but so worth it.” Some who did not qualify for States or Nationals regretted their project medium, wishing they had chosen a less popular medium to increase their chances of qualifying and, ultimately, winning, despite the repeated message in NHD weekly meetings—both on Ms. Taylor’s and the mentor’s part—that the judging was, in the end, subjective at the history competition. Fisher, who will be one of ten students going to Nationals, commented, “NHD [competitions] are very bittersweet [because] for every friend that wins[,] there's one or more that lose, and then it's this awkward mix of celebration and sulking.”
But ultimately, many participants learned lessons that they will carry with them throughout their careers and lives. “I have taken away how to go about finding primary sources and visiting archives for research, which I will definitely use in the future,” explained Gabrielle Ketchum (website, 10-2); Fisher corroborated the research aspect, explaining, “I gained a lot of research skills and also learned that people overlook bibliographies too often…researchers put blood, sweat, and tears into a good bibliography.” Finally, Elina Chen (paper, 10-1), who won The Mayflower Award with her paper “The Forgotten Father of Black Nationalism: Paul Cuffe and African American Colonization of Sierra Leone” and took home a monetary prize of $1,000, summed up a large takeaway: “Don’t procrastinate,” also describing her personal NHD experience as “chasing deadlines” and "stressful," but still "really fun."
With Masterman taking home the Outstanding School Award in the senior division at NHD States for the seventh year in a row, the history of NHD is almost—but not yet—finished. Ten Masterman students will bring five projects to the University of Maryland this year to compete at the 2023 NHD National competition from June 11-15, 2023. Best of luck to all, and cheers to many more years of Masterman's history with…well, history!
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