Two Brockway Students Place in National History Day Top 5

BROCKWAY, Pa. (EYT) – Two Brockway Area Junior-Senior High School students missed the National History Day Final Competition by a few points.

Shaughny Richardson and Sydney Manno both took top spots for their categories in the National History Day Regional Competition in April. Molly Wise took third in that competition, giving her the chance to go to the regional competition as well.

“Only seven percent of competitors make it this far,” said National History Day Pennsylvania President Jeffrey Hawks said at the awards ceremony. “Pennsylvania has one of the toughest competitions. This is my tenth year, and the judges told me that this year was very difficult to judge.”

The National History Day website boasts that half a million students from all over the country compete in the event. It is a project-based competition designed to further interest in history as well as work on presentation and critical thinking skills. The event was founded in 1974.

Richardson, a junior, took third place in the paper category, meaning that she is an alternate should first or second place need to back out of the competition.

“It felt really good to know that all that hard work was appreciated,” Richardson said. “After how well my interview went, I knew I did well.”

Brockway’s Sydney Manno, Shaughny Richardson, and Molly Wise pose with Carlisle High School mascot Thor at the state competition for National History Day.

Wise, a senior, felt that the interview experience was the most-important part of the trip to Carlisle.

“It feels pretty good to be asked about something you’ve studied and know so much about,” she said. “It’s interview experience. You learn a lot from the process, and you gain confidence because you know what you’re talking about.”

Wise wrote about the effects of the Black Death. Richardson’s third-place paper was about Native American relocation.

Sophomore Sydney Manno took fifth place in the poster category. Her display board was about the Orphan Trains. Manno went along last year to support Richardson, who took first place in the region then, too.

“I had fun being there,” Manno said. “I went from personal assistant to competitor. I felt honored to be surround by such good projects.”

All of the students got information detailing the judging process and what they missed. They will be pouring over those notes before tackling next year’s topic, “Breaking Barriers.” Richardson and Manno have a chance to continue their competitions, but all three girls learned something from the experience.

“The most important thing I got from this experience is how important history is,” Richardson said. “Not just to us as teenagers but to the judges as well. The many who interviewed me was so proud of our generation caring about history. It furthered my passion in history and historical education.”

More about National History Day can be found at its website.


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