Forty-eight Shaker Heights High School students will advance to the state competition for National History Day after winning high honors at the district level on March 15.

Shaker students were honored in the following categories:

Term Paper
First place: Allison Boyd.
Third place: Melissa Freilich.

Individual Performance
First place: Kelsey DeForest.
Third place: Beth Schick.

Group Performance
Second place: Caelyn Rosch, Catie DiVincenzo, Connor Hunt, Harper Sutherland, Fatimah Mateen.
Third place: Katelyn Walker, Torhi Beidleman, Leah Jones.

Web Site
First place: Anirudh Jayanti, Ayush Sood.
Second place: Scott Fishman, Bharat Gupta.
Honorable mention: Evan Wheeler.

Individual Documentary
First place: David Stahl
Second place: Maeve Willis
Third place: Meg Green.

Group Documentary
First place: Lindsey Gander, Sarah Leonard
Second place: Kevin Plautz, Brian Plautz, Andrew Martahus.
Third place: Anna McDonough, CC Licina
Finalists: Ben Davis, Lance Neil.

Individual Exhibit
First place: Ellie Seitz.
Third place: Carol Hundert.
Finalists: Allison Lanese, Tim Dixon, Anna Griffith.

Group Exhibit
First place: Sophia Bellin-Warren, Justine Ryu, Kristen Sinicariello.
Second place: Christopher Murphy, Hallie Clark.
Finalists: Brienne Einstein, Lisa Setrakian.
Katie Crowley, Samantha Hartman.
Tamar Kodish, Rachel Licina, Madeleine Williams.
Aaron Hirsch, Chris Longman.

Greater Cleveland Civil War Roundtable Award
David Wemer

Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage Awards
Robert Gleisser.
Anna McDonough, CC Licina.
Melissa Freilich.
Aaron Hirsch, Chris Longman.

Early Settlers of the Western Reserve Award
Abby Christman

National History Day was created in 1974 by David Van Tassel, a professor at Case Western Reserve University. Initially intended as a local competition, it grew to become a national program with about 700,000 participants each year. Top entries at the state-level competition in late April will proceed to the national finals at the University of Maryland in June.

Participating students were required to do extensive research and preparation, develop an original thesis and demonstrate their knowledge and conclusions about this year’s theme, conflict and compromise in history. Their projects vary in format, ranging from formal term papers and exhibits to dramatic performances and documentary videos. Students may work in groups or create individual projects. Teachers provide guidance and suggest resources along the way.

Shaker students have been involved in the program since its inception. Both participation and success in the competition have increased in recent years – in turn inspiring more students to enter.

For more information, go to www.nationalhistoryday.org.

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