Making history with National History Day

By Molly Ovenden

What started as a middle school social studies requirement became a passionate pursuit for Duluth East senior Natalie Miller. Participation in the National History Day competition ignited her affinity for research and desire to gain historical context for current events.

While Miller admits to occasional procrastination, she hasn’t been lazy during high school. Participating in cross country, dance and badminton, she’s been a mentor and tutor, and held leadership roles through National Honor Society and Sources of Strength, promoting improvements in student mental health.

“She’s an amazing writer,” said Catherine Nachbar, Miller’s teacher.

Miller writes fanfiction online for The Greyhound school newspaper and competed on Duluth East’s speech team.

“If Natalie says she’s going to do it, she’ll do it,” said Sue DeNio, Miller’s National History Day adviser.

What is National History Day?

Over the course of the academic year, students choose a topic to research related to each year’s theme. They present their work individually, with a partner or small team.

There are five categories to choose from: Exhibit, Documentary, Performance, Website and Paper.

After enjoyable research with a partner, Miller decided to try something new and compete individually.

“When I wrote my paper in 2020, that was the first year that I did a research paper,” Miller said.

It was Miller’s 2020 project, “Too Strong For a Woman: How Bernice Sandler Created Title IX to Break Barriers for Female Faculty in Higher Education,” which made history for her.

Students present projects at local and regional NHD contests that spring.

“I was so confused because I had never even qualified for nationals before and Minnesota is a notoriously hard state to win or get second place as I did when I won,” Miller said.

Nationals are held annually in Maryland in June, although they didn’t meet in-person for 2020.

Resilient research

Because of the pandemic, research improved when libraries and museums made their resources and databases available online. The idea came for “Too Strong for a Woman” while Miller perused the National Women’s History Museum online. Nachbar, point teacher for Duluth East’s NHD club, said Miller “is laser focused.”

Having family support to persevere is important for students to complete in NHD.

“Natalie's dad and I are so proud of her in regards to her accomplishment at National History Day,” said Natalie’s mom, Judy. “What has mattered most to us is that she gives each project her best effort, learns from her research, and has fun!”

Inspiration

“There are few people that love history more,” Miller said, than her adviser Sue DeNio.

“Teaching those (research) skills, and seeing students use them later in life makes it an inspiring experience for me,” DeNio said.

Miller has met and interviewed influential women who’ve fueled her research.

“If these women hadn’t been there fighting for themselves … I maybe wouldn't be able to go to college or I wouldn't be able to pursue law school,” Miller said.

While Miller has idolized inspirational women, she realized she doesn’t have to wait to make an impact on the world because they’re “regular people just like me,” she said. “They have personalities, they have senses of humor, they have families.”

Why is history important?

History repeats itself. Studying it reveals context and precedent for current issues, offering a broader understanding for why events have unfolded.

When students lead the history research, adults learn, too. Part of the experience is the interview process which connects

Continued on page 20 those being interviewed with the student researcher.

“I love the intergenerational part of it,” Nachbar said.

By researching history, as Miller did with her awardwinning paper, “We can see the context and how maybe something little at the time, like Title IX, like this lawsuit,” DeNio said, has a further-reaching impact than anticipated.

Developing as a researcher

Finishing her high school sophomore year with such success fueled her desire to pursue historical research for the next NHD competition. In 2021 Miller chose to study the origins of the 1970s women’s health book, "Our Bodies, Ourselves," for her junior-year research paper. This project provided another opportunity to grow as a researcher. At the state level contest, Miller received judges’ feedback to improve her research by including a wider array of viewpoints.

Responding positively to this constructive criticism, “between state and nationals I then added on like five sources to my project,” Miller said.

Revising research in response to judges’ feedback, Miller included more perspectives and presented a stronger, more balanced paper. Through NHD she’s learned to research across the spectrum of sources to understand the reason behind an issue or movement rather than to prove her opinion.

Miller is “inquisitive and looks for information to support ideas,” and “she’ll go down different research rabbit holes,” Nachbar said.

Over time, Miller’s research stirred up an interest in social justice and women’s rights issues, prompting her involvement in local politics and volunteerism with the League of Women Voters. Even before she was old enough to vote, she urged others to exercise their rights to vote — giving presentations to high school seniors on how to register to vote whether they stay in Duluth, go away to college or into military service.

“We’ve been amazed at Natalie's growth through the History Day projects over the years. We've watched her choose challenging subjects and really dig in. She even called a British World War II source at her home for an interview!” Judy Miller said.

Miller’s future

In December 2021, Miller was excited to be offered admission to Yale Class of 2026.

She’d like to major “in either history; global studies; or ethics, politics, and economics,” she said.

Yale’s financial aid and opportunities are appealing, but she wants to be certain before enrolling. Miller’s applying to other schools, including Columbia and Georgetown.

“My dad and I are going out East in February 2022 to tour before I accept,” Miller said. D

Feeling inspired to get involved?

• Read “Too Strong for a Woman,” the research paper which won first place in 2020’s NHD competition, at https:// www.nhd.org/sites/default/files/nataliemillernationals1. pdf.

• Contact your local middle or high school social studies department to see if they host an NHD club or to volunteer.

• Apply to become a NHD judge through Minnesota Historical Society at https://www.mnhs.org/historyday/ contests-and-judging/judges.

• Volunteer with a nonpartisan organization like League of Women Voters: www.lwvduluth.org.

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