The NMHC is proud to announce the successful conclusion of National History Day in New Mexico, 2024 celebrating “Turning Points in History.” Fifty-eight students, from New Mexico, attended the contest at the University of Maryland June 9-13, 2024 with their teachers, parents, guardians, and families. Students in grades 6-12, were given various opportunities, including but not limited to: presenting their work at an international level, touring our nation’s capital, attending Major League Baseball games and Broadway musicals, meeting premier documentary makers such as Ken Burns, and networking with their peers from around the world.

2024 marked National History Day’s 50th anniversary, and we are reminded of New Mexico’s history with the program — dating back to the late 1990s. New Mexico has historically been competitive at the national level, and this year was no different. Julie Autrey, from Moriarty High School, won second place for “Senior Individual Exhibit” as well as the “Marine Corps History Award” with her project “From Desks to Depots: The Women’s Armed Service Integration Act.” Lauren Brueggen from Silver High School won the “History of the Physical Sciences/Technology” Award for her individual website on “Turning the Tides of History: The Ebb and Flow of Tide-Predicting Machines.” Thamson Heneghan from La Plata Middle School won an “Outstanding Entry” Award for his individual documentary “Mongols and Merchants: When Nomads Bridged Civilizations.” Mary Nichols, Gracie Motoya and Carolyn Coltrane from Silver High School won an “Outstanding Entry” Award for their group performance “The Accomplishments of Elizabeth Blackwell: Turning Points in Medical History.” Both of the “Outstanding Entry” awards were given to those who also placed in the top ten at NHD Nationals, where every state and dozens of countries are represented. This year, we once again proved that New Mexican students, teachers and families can compete, and win, against some of the best and brightest in the world.

The national competition marked the successful completion of National History Day in New Mexico’s celebration of “Turning Points in History.” Now we look forward to the new 2025 NHD theme “Rights and Responsibilities.” (Students who stayed in dorms at the University of Maryland during the competition, were already talking about “what they wanted to do next year” as we were checking out.)

Fear the Chile!