The New Mexico History Day program recently participated in the 2021 National History Day national contest, which was held virtually this year. New Mexico had fifty-eight students from thirteen schools participate in nationals following the state’s own virtual competition. Eight New Mexico students were awarded medals and seventeen overall students were finalists in the competition, hailing from Moriarty High School (Moriarty), Silver High School (Silver City), Immanuel Lutheran School (Albuquerque), Alice King Community School (Albuquerque), and Pecos Connections Academy (Las Cruces).

“Every year we are awed and humbled by the persistence, depth of knowledge, and creativity of our New Mexico History Day students. This year they demonstrated remarkable resilience, adapting to the change in competition format due to the pandemic and finding ways to work with their teammates remotely,” said Ellen Dornan, New Mexico History Day Program Director. “The achievement of all our Nationals competitors is remarkable. Just getting to Nationals ranks you among the top young history scholars in the nation, but our finalists and medalists have done New Mexico extremely proud with our best showing yet. We are especially grateful to all the teachers who helped get them there.

On Saturday, June 19, National History Day® (NHD) presented the awards for the 2021 NHD National Contest in a live streamed ceremony. Through documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances, and websites, students presented research projects addressing topics related to the 2021 NHD theme, “Communication in History”. At the conclusion of Saturday’s awards ceremony, NHD Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn announced the 2022 National History Day theme, “Debate & Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences.”

More than 400 historians and education professionals served as judges for the students’ work. As with all other aspects of the contest this year, the judging was conducted remotely online. More than 100 students from across the country will receive cash prizes between $500 and $2,000, each, for superior work in their categories.

The New Mexico History Day program is hosted by the New Mexico Humanities Council, and this year’s regional and state competitions were held virtually with students and schools from across the state. Students who qualified for the National History Day competition participated virtually at the National contest June 13 – 19, 2020. New Mexico national medalists and finalists are:

2021 NHD New Mexico medalists:

Latino-American history category
Mia Kesel
Junior individual website: The Chicano Civil Rights Movement
Alice King Community School — teacher Laurel LeGate

Third place junior paper
Karma Bromwells
Voices of Rebellion: Guilded Age Suffragists, 1870-1920
Pecos Connections Academy — teacher Amanda Shaner

First place senior group exhibit
Alecia Gauna, Karly Neish, and Tessa Buck
Nothing is Covered Up: Communicating the Horrors of the Holocaust
Moriarty High School — teacher Amy Page

Outstanding junior entry
Shelby Mason
Junior individual exhibit: Allied Deceptions in WWII
Immanuel Lutheran School — teacher Charlie Pflieger

Outstanding senior entry
Anson Beck and Avery Beck
Senior group website: The Grimm Brothers’ Lasting Legacy: Communicating German Mores through Literature
Silver High School — teachers Claudie Thompson and Lee Wilson

NHD nationals finalists:

Analeya Gonzales, Nathan Porter, and Colton Traeger
Senior group performance: Aircraft Black Boxes: Communication from the Dead
Silver High School — teachers Claudie Thompson and Lee Wilson

Olivia Chavez, Josiah Lujan, Henry Schuett, and Abraham Tapia
Senior group performance: Ernie Pyle: Communicating the Soldier’s Story and Shaping the American Understanding of War
Moriarty High School — teacher Amy Page

Maleah Diaz and Alizeah Murillo
Senior group exhibit: Nazi Propaganda: The Mastery of Insidious Communication
Silver High School — teachers Claudie Thompson and Lee Wilson

Claire Ewing
Junior paper: The Discovery of Communication through Language for the Deaf-Blind World
Pecos Connections Academy – teacher Amanda Shaner