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Students holding a banner that reads "FEAR THE CHILE" at the national NHD competition
Students show their New Mexico pride during the Parade of States at the NHD Awards Ceremony.

NEW MEXICO STUDENTS BRING HOME AWARDS FROM THE NATIONAL NHD CONTEST

WHO: New Mexico National History Day Contest award winners
WHAT: National History Day National Contest Awards Ceremony
WHERE: The Xfinity Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD
WHEN: Thursday, June 15th, 2023
CONTACT: New Mexico History Day State Coordinator, Heather McClenahan

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National History Day announced this year’s prize winners on Thursday, June 15th, at the 2023 National Contest awards ceremony, held in person for the first time in four years. More than 2,600 students and 600 teachers attended the National Contest, which took place on the university campus in College Park, MD, from June 10th –15th. The ceremony was the culmination, not only of the week-long contest, but also of a year of student research, project creation, and competition.

New Mexico students competed well, with McKenzie Satterfield and Aubrey Shelby of Moriarty High School in Moriarty, N.M., placing second in senior group exhibit; Heights Middle School in Farmington, N.M., students Genevieve Petersen and Grace McWilliams receiving the junior award for outstanding entry in the History of the Physical Sciences & Technology; and students Elizabeth McDonald, Isaac Beck and Kylee Jones of Silver High in Silver City, N.M., taking home the award for United States Marine Corps History.

“We are incredibly proud of the 62 New Mexico students who competed at the national contest this year,” said state coordinator Heather McClenahan. “They learned so much while working on their projects, had a blast exploring the nation’s capital and meeting their competitors, and they showed why our motto is ‘Fear the chile!’”

During the 2022–2023 school year, over half a million students globally completed projects centered around the theme, Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas, in one of five categories: documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. Throughout the spring, students competed in a series of contests beginning at the local level. The top students from all 50 states, Washington D.C., U.S. territories, and international schools were invited to compete in the National Contest.

“It’s great to be back in person after three years of virtual contests,” said NHD Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn. “Every year, NHD students surprise and inspire me with their enthusiasm, innovative thinking, and tireless research. The analytical skills they have cultivated will stand them in good stead for their future educational endeavors. Congratulations to the over half a million students globally who participated and to the thousands of teachers who guided them.” More than 400 historians and education professionals served as judges for the students’ work. $150,000 in scholarships were awarded at the national awards ceremony, and over 100 students took home cash prizes between $250 and $1,000 for superior work.

2022 - 2023 THEME:

FRONTIERS IN HISTORY: PEOPLE, PLACES, IDEAS

People, places, and ideas can all be frontiers. The 2023 theme invites consideration of time and place, cause and effect, change over time, and impact and significance. Students were encouraged to select topics in history where a frontier has been crossed. Once a frontier is crossed, history changes. In addition to geography, frontiers encompass topics in the history of science, art, technology, medicine, religion, politics, social change, or the military.

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NATIONAL HISTORY DAY

Helping student historians and their teachers study the past to inform the present and shape the future.

ABOUT NATIONAL HISTORY DAY® (NHD):

NHD is a non-profit organization based in College Park, Maryland, that seeks to improve the teaching and learning of history. The National History Day Contest was established in 1974 and currently engages more than half a million students every year in conducting original research on historical topics of interest. Students present their research as a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. Projects compete first at the local and affiliate levels, where the top entries are invited to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park. NHD is sponsored in part by, HISTORY®, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Park Service, Southwest Airlines, the Crown Family Foundation, The Better Angels Society, the Pritzker Military Museum and Library, and the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation. For more information, visit NHD.org.

ABOUT NATIONAL HISTORY DAY® IN NEW MEXICO:

History Day in New Mexico is open to elementary, middle, and high school students statewide. The program is organized and sponsored by the New Mexico Humanities Council. NMHC offers online and in-person professional development for teachers as well as student events.