History contest empowers future leaders

History not only survives but thrives thanks to dedicated middle and high school students who bring life to influential figures of the past at National History Day events. In April, LaGrange College hosted the Georgia state contest, which displayed the academic and theatrical talents of over 400 competitors.

Since 2014, the college has served as state co-sponsor of National History Day with Georgia Humanities.

This year was the first in-person state competition since before the COVID pandemic. Special guests at the event included Alyse Wolf, Regional Outreach Coordinator for Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA); Dr. Cathy Gorn, Executive Director of National History Day; Dr. Shelly Lowe, National Endowment for the Humanities Chair; and Dr. Anthony Mitchell, National Endowment for the Humanities Senior Deputy Chair.

Gorn, who last appeared at the Georgia contest in 2019, expressed the importance of National History Day.

“It provides students the opportunity to discover the past while honing research, writing, analytical thinking skills and creative expression,” she said. “It allows students to take ownership of their research journey. And it helps them build self-esteem.”

Before advancing to the state contest, over 200 students competed in NHD’s West Georgia regional competition that was held on March 10 at LaGrange College.

Competitors, working either individually or in a group, presented their project through one of five media: historical paper, exhibit, performance, documentary or website. This year’s theme was “Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas.”

Judges from each category advanced the top two state entries to the national contest held this summer at the University of Maryland in College Park.