Merced County Students Earn Gold at Annual History Day Competition

The annual Merced County History Day competition took place Friday, Feb. 7, at the MCOE Downtown Center, where more than 100 middle school students from across the county showcased their skills in research and history. 

A total of 51 projects were submitted across all grade levels, with students from Hilmar Middle, Hoover Middle, Mitchell Senior, Peggy Heller Elementary and Rivera Middle Schools. 

Student projects spanned across a wide range of historical topics centered on the theme Rights and Responsibilities in History. Projects included exhibits, websites, documentaries, podcasts and student performances.

The competition concluded with an awards ceremony, also hosted at the MCOE Downtown Center, where winners were announced and recognized for their work. 
 
The following projects earned gold awards:
 
DOCUMENTARY
Pax Hamilton-Dodson and Lucas Unger-Ramirez, Hoover Middle School, for their group project titled “Yuri Kochiyma: Champion of Justice" and Sahara Isbell, Hoover Middle School, for the project “Shifting Notions: The Rights and Responsibilities of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

PODCAST
Evee Tavares Gonsalves and Allie Sousa, Hilmar Middle School, for their group project titled, “The Impact of 911 on the Most Innocent Victims and the Responsibilities to Care for Their Trauma" and Liliana Tapia Tirado, Hoover Middle School, for the project “Zuit Suits.”

PERFORMANCE
Mariem Elhanafy, Sarah Cromar, Jalyssa Dominguez-Rojas, Yvaine Santos and London Moua, Rivera Middle School, for their group project, “Women’s Voting Rights.”

EXHIBIT
Elizabeth O’Keeffe, Elena Moradzadeh and Sidney Immonen, Hoover Middle School, for their group project titled, “Riot Girls" and Nina Vang for the project, “Japanese American Internment.”

WEBSITE
Nicholas Yang, Douathi Moua, Alannah Guzman and Jennavie Kajornklin, Rivera Middle School, for their group project titled, “Athenian Revolution” and Caroline Gonzalez-Urbano for the project, “Brown v. Board of Education.”

Additional students received awards and honorable mentions for the quality of research and the innovative approaches taken with their projects. 

Many students from the competition are eligible to advance to California History Day, where they will compete against students from across the state for a chance to participate at the national level.