INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) proudly announces that students from Hamilton, Marion, and Monroe counties have been selected to advance to the National History Day in Indiana (NHDI) State Contest after a successful Central region contest on Saturday, March 16.
Approximately 265 students participated in Saturday’s contest at Carmel High School. The finalists will advance to the 2024 NHDI State Contest on April 20 at Marian University in Indianapolis.
NHDI is a yearlong program that enhances history education in Indiana’s schools. Students in grades four through 12 explore a historical subject that fits under the annual theme. This year’s theme is “Turning Points in History.” Students use their research to create a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. To reach the 2024 NHDI State Contest held at Marian University on April 20, students must qualify at one of six regional contests.
NHDI is a project-based, inquiry-based program that encourages students to explore their passions by conducting research, developing research questions, and exhibiting their individual learning styles by creating exhibits, documentaries, performances, papers, and websites.
2024 Central Contest Winner Report
Youth Individual Exhibit
- “A Road to a Safer Tomorrow” – Ana Benitez-Marin (Maplewood Elementary School)
- “The Indian Removal Act” – Allison Pereda-Garcia (Maplewood Elementary School)
Youth Group Exhibit
- “Chernobyl” – Eddie Rivera, Edwin Ponce (Maplewood Elementary School)
Junior Paper
- “The Quest for the Ultimate Map: The Human Genome Project” – Mina Raiesdana (Sycamore School)
- “Eradication of Polio” – Iman Hallab (Eman Schools)
- “A Rebellion of the Underprivileged: An Analysis of the French Revolution” – Sophie Xu (Jackson Middle School)
Junior Individual Documentary
- “How the Invention of the First iPhone Changed Technology” – Lucy Ko (Sycamore School)
- “Chicago: A City on Fire” – Chloe Heraly (Sycamore School)
- “Freddie Mercury Societal Impacts” – Leila Free (Westlane Middle School)
Junior Group Documentary
- “The INHWA Private Boarding School Incident” – Adamaris Campos-Ramirez, Ahni Hill (New Augusta Publica Academy – North)
- “The Texas Revolution” – Elijah Tyler, Oli Muyumba (Eastwood Middle School)
- “The Creation of the Internet” – Amsi Maldonado, Kylie Bowermaster, Rayne Mckinney (Maplewood Elementary School)
Junior Individual Performance
“Polio vs. World: How the Polio Vaccine Decrease Paralysis” – Mikhaela Starnino (Sycamore School)
Junior Individual Website
- “Battle of Okinawa: A Turning Point in World War II” – Savannah Reymer (Sycamore School)
- “The Ostentatious Odyssey” – Dyer Thompson (Sycamore School)
Junior Group Website
- “The Battle of Marne” – Alexander Vidal, David Ortiz Rivas, Elvert Woodruff, Yael Vences (Maplewood Elementary School)
- “Lewis Hine: The Man who Brought Attention to Child Labor” – Jessee Roberts, Marcus Trahyn-Fordham, Maximus Trahyn-Fordham (Irvington Community School)
Junior Individual Exhibit
- “We Never Surrender” – The Prime Ministry of Winston Churchill” – Lydia Clemens (Sycamore School)
2024 Central Contest Winner Report
- “The History of Anesthesia” – Lucy Mann (Westlane Middle School)
- “The Battle of Yorktown” – Michael Mergott (Sycamore School)
- “The Stonewall Riots” – Evie Ancel (Eastwood Middle School)
Junior Group Exhibit
- “The Creation of the First Gas Pump” – Emanuel Reyes Moreno, Jeffrey Rosales, Laila Abner, Sophia Brooks (Maplewood Elementary School)
- “Pop Art” – Hannah Mackintosh, Sophie Spataro (Eastwood Middle School)
- “How European Views Impacted Native Cultures” – Junia Doll O’Mahoney, Myley Dixon (Eastwood Middle School)
- “Madam C.J. Walker: Embracing Her Inner Royalty” – Lexsie Gonzalez, Xlmena Chavez (Maplewood Elementary School)
Senior Paper
- “From Tragedy to Transformation: How the Santa Barbara Oil Spill Changed Environmental Awareness and Regulations” – Mahira Hafeez (Carmel High School)
- “Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Sparks Industry Reform” – Anna Yoon (Carmel High School)
- “The Second Red Scare: McCarthyism and its Effects on Modern America” – Deke Kandel (North Central High School)
- “The Murder of Kitty Genovese and the Subsequent Establishment of the 9-1-1 System” – Zainab Rizwan (Eman Schools)
Senior Individual Documentary
- “The Butcher of Uganda”: How Idi Amin’s Expulsion of Asians from Uganda Reshaped a Nation and Its Legacy” – Solomone Somani (Carmel High School)
- “The Barbie Doll: An Inspiring Symbol of Women Empowerment” – Devyn Hansen (Carmel High School)
- “Edward Jenner and the Smallpox Vaccine: A Medical Marvel that Transformed Public Health” – Kaarthik Nagarathinam (Carmel High School)
- “Cuba: A Revolutionary Journey” – Advik Chaudhary (Carmel High School)
- “The Dick, Kerr Ladies: Opening Opportunities for Women’s Soccer” – Charlotte Hunter (Carmel High School)
- “The Delano Grape Strike: A Turning Point in Agricultural and Labor History” – Sophia Fu (Carmel High School)
Senior Group Documentary
- “America’s Tooth” – Alice Mayer, Annalise Taller (Carmel High School)
- “Katherine Switzer’s Marathon: How a Single Push Became a Pivotal Turning Point in Women’s Sports” – Julia Eynon, Talia Ingemi (North Central High School)
- “How Broadcast Television Transformed American Sports and Culture” – Adelyn Flessner, Lillian Tabor (North Central High School)
- “Making the Invisible Visible: Lewis Hine’s Social Photography as a Turning Point in the Fight Against Child Labor” – Divya Ariyur, Shawn Feng (Carmel High School)
- “Reclaiming 1857” – Prachi Subbannavar, Rachel Dsouza (Carmel High School)
- “Turning Points in Media – How the Beatles Revolutionized Both the Music Industry and Pop Culture” – Charlotte Stonebraker, Vivan Baker (North Central High School)
- “Operation Blue Star: A Story Untold” – Rithvik Varigonda, Shawn Thind (Carmel High School)
- “The Haber Process: The Blade that Cut Wheat and Killed Men” – Alex Mi, Benjamin Lu (Carmel High School)
Senior Individual Performance
- “The Spinning Wheel” – Ainsley Schwerdtfeger-Jones (Carmel High School)
Senior Group Performance
- “A Little Liquid Called Insulin” – Ananya Yemme, Ellie Purvis (Carmel High School)
- “Josephine Cochrane and the Advent of the Dishwasher” – Siyu Pei, Tiffano Gao, Zaina Khan (Carmel High School)
- “Madame Mystery: How Agatha Christie Transformed the Mystery Genre” – Elizabeth Schuth, Emily Hackwelder, Sophie Farnum (North Central High School)
Senior Individual Website
- “L’ENCYCLOPÉDIE: Presenting the Enlightenment Through the Collection of Thought” – Katelyn Chen (Carmel High School)
- “Virtuosity, Op. 1: Paganini Composes a New Movement in Classical Music” – Rebecca Li (Carmel High School)
- “The Spindletop Oil Discovery: Fueling America’s Petroleum Revolution” – Valerie Fu (Carmel High School)
Senior Group Website
- “The Cultural Impact of the Sony Walkman” – Sophie Wolfe, Draco Qiao (Carmel High School)
- “The Belmont Report” – Abigail Lee, Manvi Musunuru (Carmel High School)
- “Mokusatsu” – Stephanie Tan, Katie Zhao (Carmel High School)
Senior Individual Exhibit
- “The Printing Press” – Abdulrahman Aboshama (Eman Schools)
- “Ancient Echoes: Benjamin Latrobe’s Greek Revival” – Alison Porterfield (Carmel High School)
- “Cipher Machines and their Impact on the Technological World” – Sophie Imler (Carmel High School)
- “Rankin’s Radical Impact” – Lucy Padgett (Carmel High School)
- “Radar: Turning the Tides of War” – Beau Dwyer (Carmel High School)
- “The Balfour Declaration: Shaping the Middle East” – Audrey Jachnik (Carmel High School)
- “Nataniel Pitt Langford: The Push to Preservation for Yellowstone” – Sophia Andres (CarmelHigh School)
- “Princess Diana: A Turning Point in the British Monarchy” – Bridget Cardinal (Carmel High School)
- “Rosie’s Riveting Success” – Skylar Welch (Carmel High School)
- “Invention of the Piano: A Key to Music” – Josiah Hoffeditz (Carmel High School)
- “Into the Minds of Criminals: How Psychology Advanced Criminal Profiling” – Amy Blacker(Carmel High School)
- “The People v. O.J. Simpson” – Katie Ashley (Carmel High School)
- “Senator Lugar Secured the World” – Mark Boye (Roncalli High School)
- “Interstate 465: The Overlooked Beltway at the Heart of America” – Carson Kent (Carmel High School)
Senior Group Exhibit
- “The Forgotten Genocide: Freedom Buried Under Blood” Archita Nath, Rifaya Faisal (Carmel High School)
- “Nellie Bly and the Rise of Stunt Journalism” – Lily Flint, Monica Powers (Carmel High School)
- “Bromine Therapy from Battlefield Hospitals to the Public” – Emma An, Olivia Lim (Carmel HighSchool)
- “The Salem Witch Trials: Turning Point for Justice” – Kaylah Wang, Maliya Shapiro (Carmel High School)
- “DNA: Clues in the code” – Ava Reita, Evelyn Vanderpool (Carmel High School)
- “Gangs and Prohibition: A Spirited Rebellion” – Leila de Leon, Vedika Vyas (Carmel High School)
NHDI is presented by Indiana Constructors, Inc., with support from the Rooker Family Foundation and Vigran Family Foundation. It was made possible through a grant from Indiana Humanities in cooperation with the National Endowment for the Humanities.
For more information, visit www.indianahistory.org/historyday or call 317-232-1882.
