District 54 is proud to announce that 14 Mead Junior High School students competed in the Illinois History Day competition in May and four of these students had projects qualify for the National History Day competition, which is being held virtually in June.
Congratulations to the following two student groups who qualified for the National History Day competition.
- The Count and His Band: Revolutionizing Jazz Exhibit – an exhibit by Andrew Yamaguchi and Harshil Joshi
- The Subjacent Meanings of Jazz: A Means of Communication for Social Change – an exhibit by Alvena Bhutiani and Alyssa Senese
Each of the following projects advanced to the finals round during the Illinois History Day competition this month. The students will receive a state finals ribbon.
- A Journalist’s Voice for the Voiceless: How the Chicago Defender Defended Civil Rights – a documentary by Sukanya Ghosh, Arianne SanMiguel and Anishka Vora
- Henry Gerber: How He Pioneered Communication of Homosexual Civil Rights in the United States of America – a paper by Anne Gabrielle Robidas
- Communication through Chicago’s Art: The Key to Cultural Understanding – a documentary by Anvita Vinu, Carolyn Zhang and Nandini Indraganti
In addition, the following project won at the Chicago Metro Regional History Fair in March and qualified for the state competition.
- Solidarnosc: Communicating to End Communism in Poland – a documentary by Michelle Belzowska, Veronica Dragomirov and Mridula Prabu.
District 54 is also pleased to share that Mead Teacher Julie Morrison received the 2021 Illinois History Day Governor’s Award, which is presented annually to a teacher at a school whose student historians over the years “excel in the competition highlighting their skills in research and project development.” Julie has been a District 54 social studies teacher for 21 years, spending her past 11 years at Mead.
According to nhd.org, each year more than half a million students participate. Students choose a historical topic related to the theme, conduct research, analyze and interpret their sources, and then draw a conclusion about the significance of their topic. Students can present their work as a research paper, an exhibit, a performance, a documentary or a website. Professional educators and historians serve as the judges. This year’s theme was Communication in History: The Key to Understanding.
