Tennessee Students Compete for Honors at National History Day!Nashville – June 19, 2009 – After months of intensive research and success at local and state-level competitions, 47 students from Tennessee presented their projects at the annual National History Day (NHD) competition, held at the University of Maryland College Park Campus in the Washington, D.C. area June 14-18th. "This phenomenal group of students from Tennessee conducted thorough research and produced high quality projects to become the best History Day students in the state of Tennessee. The students, their teachers, and parents have much of which to be proud," states Kelly Wilkerson, State Coordinator for Tennessee History Day.
Four Tennessee students left College Park with awards including Grace Hughbanks of Signal Mountain, winner of the Senior Division award presented by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation for the best project in Early American History for her Senior Individual Exhibit on ""Our Marquis": Lafayette in the American Revolution." Maranda Vandergriff, Elisa Vandergriff, and Elijah Gray of Powell took second place in Junior Group Documentary for their project on "Dr. Robert F. Thomas: The Great Smoky Mountains Horseback Healer of Body and Soul." Emma Thompson of Tellico Plains took the Outstanding State Entry for Tennessee in the Junior Division for her Junior Individual exhibit on "I See Something: William S. Gray and the Dick and Jane Readers." Hannah Clevenger of Gatlinburg won the Outstanding State Entry for Tennessee in the Senior Division for her Senior Individual Documentary on "Evelyn Bishop: Crafting a Legacy in the Tennessee Mountains."
The NHD program annually engages over a half million students in grades six through 12 from 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, and Department of Defense Schools. Each fall students nationwide begin the year-long National History Day program, competing in a series of history contests in their local communities and states. The top students in each category are selected for participation in the national contest. In Tennessee, district competitions take place in Knoxville (East Tennessee Historical Society), Chattanooga (Chattanooga History Center), Murfreesboro (Middle Tennessee State University), and Memphis (University of Memphis.) The state competition is held in Nashville at Legislative Plaza and is sponsored by the Tennessee Historical Society.
More than just a day, NHD allows participating students to choose their own topics of study and research from original sources based on a yearly theme. This year's theme was The Individual in History: Actions and Legacies. They present their work in a variety of ways by creating museum-type exhibits, video documentaries, original performances, interpretive websites, or traditional research papers.
Over 300 historians and other education professionals evaluate the work of over 2,000 students at the National History Day contest. Over $250,000 in scholarships and cash prizes were awarded at the awards ceremony yesterday. To see a full list of winners, visit the National History Day website.
For more information about the History Day program in Tennessee contact Kelly Wilkerson at 615-741-8934 or by email at History Day
Complete list of participating students:
1)Maranda Vandergriff, Elisa Vandergriff, and Elijah Gray, home schooled students from Powell with a Junior Group Documentary on "Dr. Robert F. Thomas: The Great Smoky Mountains Horseback Healer of Body and Soul." Teachers: Katie Vandergriff and Sabrina Gray.
2)Kayla Brooks and Chloe Burkhead of Snowden School in Memphis with their Junior Group Documentary on "The Life and Times of Frances Wright." Teacher: April Inman.
3)Michael Gattas and Lauren Hetherington of St. Agnes Academy- St Dominic School in Memphis with their Junior Group Exhibit on "Danny Thomas: No Child Should Die in the Dawn of Life." Teacher: Joy McManis.
4)Rachel Collins and Josh Huff of Ft. Loudon Middle School in Loudon with their Junior Group Performance on "Saucy's Letters to the Tyrant of Freedom." Teacher: Joe Davis.
5)Mary Scarlett Greenway, Corinne Oliphant, Emily Snyder, and Lucas Eytchison of Bellehaven Christian Academy in Brentwood for their Junior Group Performance on "Joan of Arc: Trial and Conviction." Teacher: Sharon Wilharm.
6)Emma Thompson of Coker Creek Elementary in Tellico Plains for her Junior Individual Exhibit on "I See Something: William S. Gray and the Dick and Jane Readers." Teacher: Shannon Harris.
7)Meg Hutchison of Fred J. Page Middle School in Franklin for her Junior Individual Exhibit on "We Can Do It: Rosie the Riveter Goes to Work for Women." Teacher: Stephanie Gilbert.
8)Joanna Foster of Meigs Magnet Middle School in Nashville for her Junior Individual Documentary on "Code Name: Jolanta." Teacher: Jamie Schimenti.
9)Stephen Bassett of Greenway School in Knoxville for his Junior Individual Documentary on "Jesse Owens: A Race for Equality." Teacher: Liz Shugart.
10)Sarah Margaret Hutchison of Greenway School in Knoxville for her Junior Individual Performance on "Jeanette Rankin: A Voice for Peace." Teacher: Liz Shugart.
11)Michelle Woodruff of Englewood Elementary in Englewood for her Junior Individual Performance on "Queen Elizabeth I." Teachers: Susie Lee and Heidi Ford.
12)Kiyoko Reidy of Greenway School in Knoxville for her Junior Individual Paper on "John Steinbeck: A Bard for the Okies." Teacher: Liz Shugart.
13)Blake Brashear of Concord Christian School in Knoxville for his Junior Individual Paper on "Steven Jobs: Impact and Innovations to the Personal Electronics and the Computer Animated Industry." Teacher: Tammy Lightholder.
14)Timothy Blackwell of Greenway School in Knoxville for his Junior Website on "Turning vs. Enigma: The Battle for the Code." Teacher: Liz Shugart.
15)Caolinn Golden and Regan Chandler of St. Benedict at Auburndale in Cordova for their Senior Group Exhibit on "Genocide? My Foot! There are Still Tutsis in Rwanda!" Paul Rusesabagina and the Hotel del Mille Collines." Teacher: Miriam Dolin.
16)Parks Barroso, Alan Shattuck, and Noah Williams of West High School in Knoxville for their Senior Group Exhibit on "Mark Felt: The Man Behind the Voice." Teachers: Candace Lewis and Lou Gallo.
17)Nathan Steyer, Jordan Brown, Matt Stanifer, Keerthighaan Kanagasegar, and Elizabeth Ashby of the Tennessee Governor's Academy in Knoxville for their Senior Group Documentary on "Robert Oppenheimer: The Man Beneath the Hat." Teacher: Patricia Brake.
18)Ruth Shaffer, Khadija Awais, and Natasha Mehra of White Station High School in Memphis for their Senior Group Documentary on "Golda Meier: Her Lasting Legacy." Teacher: Alan Whitehead.
19)Zachary Arms and Brett Parsons of McMinn Central High School in Etowah for their Senior Group Performance on "John Wilkes Booth: Put on Trial." Teacher: Teri Blair.
20)Grace Hughbanks of the Stone House School on Signal Mountain for her Senior Individual Exhibit on " "Our Marquis": Lafayette in the American Revolution." Teacher: Sue Hughbanks.
21)Caitlin Sudkamp of Walden Home School on Signal Mountain for her Senior Individual Exhibit on "For Honor and the South." Teacher: Linda Neuhoff.
22)Hannah Clevenger of Gatlinburg Pittman High School in Gatlinburg for her Senior Individual Documentary on "Evelyn Bishop: Crafting a Legacy in the Tennessee Mountains." Teacher: Rebecca Byrd.
23)Mia Wallace of West High School in Knoxville for her Senior Individual Documentary on "Jim Thompson: The Unsung Hero of East Tennessee History." Teachers: Candace Lewis and Lou Gallo.
24)Mary Biggs of Bearden High School in Knoxville for her Senior Individual Paper on "Nancy Ward: Peacemaker and Beloved Women of the Cherokee." Teacher: Liz Shugart.
25)Lily Gu of the Tennessee Governor's Academy in Knoxville for her Senior Individual Paper on "Rush's Revolution: Marvelous Methods for the Mad." Teacher: Patricia Brake.
26)Gary Moats, Robert Hernandez, and Tyler Mashburn of Polk County High School in Benton for their Senior Website on "Deep Throat." Teacher: Dewey Esquinance.
27)Brittany Wilharm of Bellehaven Christian Academy in Brentwood for her Senior Website on "Fanny Kemble: What She Did, What She Left Behind." Teacher: Sharon Wilharm.
Tennessee History Day is a Success! The 2009 Tennessee History Day state competition was held on Saturday, April 4, 2009 at Legislative Plaza in downtown Nashville.
See List of State Winners
Tennessee History Day VideoWe now offer an instructional video walking you through the step-by-step process of creating an entry for Tennessee History Day.
View the new Tennessee History Day video resource!
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2010 District Competition Information 
For more information about your district competition, please click on the link below:
- West TN : TBA, 2010 - Autozone Park, Memphis, TN
- Middle TN : February 26, 2010 - Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
- East TN : March 1, 2010- University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN
- Southeast TN : TBA, 2010 - University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN
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