March 18, 2019—On Saturday, March 17, 117 students from Shaker Heights High School and Shaker Heights Middle School competed in the Region 3 Ohio History Day Competition at the Cleveland History Center and Case Western Reserve University. The students competed for special prizes and for the opportunity to compete at the Ohio History Day competition on April 27 at Ohio Wesleyan University. Twenty-three Shaker projects, representing 47 students, will advance to State Competition, with Shaker Heights High School winning seven First Place entries. Overall, 26 of Shaker’s History Day projects won at least one award, either as State Qualifiers, Honorable Mentions, and/or won Special Awards resulting in recognition and monetary prizes. Also, Middle School Individuals and Societies teacher and National History Day Club advisor David Saluga won the Teacher Award!

Shaker Heights High School History Day students are advised by Individuals and Societies teachers Sarah Davis and Joseph Konopinski, with assistance from many others, including editorial assists from the High School’s Writing Center and counsel from the Theater Department.

"The variety of subjects covered by our students reflects their curiosity. Job well done by our students and to our teachers, who encourage and guide them," said Interim Superintendent Stephen M. Wilkins.

For the results below, "Senior" indicates high school-level competition and "Junior" indicates the middle school-grade level of competition:

Senior Group Documentary

• State Finalist, Second Place: "Apollo 11: Shooting for the Moon” by Davis Belk, Luke Herbst and Victor Matts
• State Finalist, Third Place: "The Mandel Brothers: From the Shtetls of Europe to the Kings of Philanthropy” by Spencer Goldberg, Bram Hoffman and Bailey Pasternak
• State Finalist, Honorable Mention: “From Water to Riots; How the Hough riots changed the city's history” by Maggie Carter, Victoria Helmick, Sylvie Prause and Kate Schneiberg 

Senior Individual Documentary

• State Finalist, First Place: “Si Se Puede: The Struggle and Triumph of the Farm Workers” by Thomas Vodrey
• State Finalist, Second Place: "Elizabeth Catlett - The Civil Rights Sculptor” by Meg Bennett
• State Finalist, Third Place: “The AIDS Crisis: Activism and Drug Availability” by Clovis Westlund

Senior Group Exhibit

• State Finalist, First Place: “The Ashtabula Train Disaster” by Sara Dina and Gabbi Fortin
• State Finalist, Second Place: “The Interstate Highway System: The Diving Lines of America” by Anna Krouse and Hilary Shakelton
• State Finalist, Third Place:  “The Triangle: A Tragic Fire that Provoked Reform” by Melina Ioannou and Paige Masterson
• State Finalist, Honorable Mention: "Uncle Sam In Japan” by Paul Huang, Matthew Kirchner and Eric LaMonica
• State Finalist, Honorable Mention: “The Philippine-American War: The Tragedy of American Imperialism” by Annika Ferguson, Isabelle Nace and Olivia Warren

Senior Individual Exhibit

• State Finalist, First Place: “EPA: The Destruction and Reclamation of the Environment” by Colin McCabe
• State Finalist, Second Place: “Triumph Shadowed by Tragedy: The Warner and Swasey Company” by Daniel Wise
• State Finalist, Honorable Mention: "Stonewall: The Bricks that Built an Uprising” by Julia Schmitt-Palumbo

Senior Group Performance

• State Finalist, First Place: "Brian Wilson: Defining Modern Music” by Max Benincasa, Joe Carroll and James Kennedy
• State Finalist, Second Place: “Ella Fitzgerald Overcoming Early Struggles and Prejudice to Find Success in the Music Industry” by Rebecca Rhodes and Bridget Yusko
• State Finalist, Third Place: “Reenactment of Brown v. Board of Education” by John Carter, Eli Celeste-Cohen and Ben Cox

Junior Group Performance

• State Finalist, First Place:  “City of Spindles: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Lowell Mills” Junior Group Performance by Hayley Child and Hazel Smith
• Senior Individual Performance State Finalist, First Place: "Uprising of the 20,000 and the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire: The Tragedy of the Shirtwaist Girls” by Esti Goldstein

Senior Group Website

• State Finalist, First Place: "The Man with the Muck-rake:" Literature and the Chicago Meatpacking Industry” By Matthew Boardman, Arlo Braman and Aiden Koenigsberger
• State Finalist, Second Place: "Jesse Owens and America's Discrimination” Andrea Harrison, Lauren Sheperd and Athena Vadnal

Senior Individual Website

• State Finalist, Second Place: "Jane Addams: A Guiding Woman In a Man-Made World" by Maggie Perry
• State Finalist, Third Place: “Jonas Salk and Polio Eradication” by Avery Blaszak

Special Awards

• David Van Tassel Award presented to the Region's Teacher of the Year: David Saluga of Shaker Heights Middle School.
• Special Prize in Jewish History, Friends of the Maltz Museum of Jewish History: “The Mandel Brothers: From the Shtetls of Europe to the Kings of Philanthropy” Senior Group Documentary by Spencer Goldberg, Bram Hoffman and Bailey Pasternak
• Baseball Heritage Museum Prize, Baseball Heritage Museum Award:  "1919 Chicago Black Sox: The Dark Side of Baseball" Senior Group Documentary by Ian Bhatia, Isaiah Gundani, Sam Klein, Leo McGuinness
• The Lake Erie Prize, The Wilton Club:  "Cleveland’s Environmental Turning Point: The Cuyahoga River Fire of 1969" Senior Paper by Nicholas Voyzey
• The Shaker Library Research Prize:  “City of Spindles: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Lowell Mills”Junior Group Performance by Hayley Child and Hazel Smith
• The Early Settlers Association Award (this Association selected about a dozen projects to recognize):  "Cleveland’s Environmental Turning Point: The Cuyahoga River Fire of 1969" Senior Paper by Nicholas Voyzey, “Triumph Shadowed by Tragedy: The Warner and Swasey Company” by Danny Wise, “The Burning Truth: The Cuyahoga River Fire of 1969” by Jeremey Galin and Connor Richard, “The Ashtabula Train Disaster” by Gabbi Fortin and Sara Dina
• The Rock & Roll History Prize: "Ella Fitzgerald Overcoming Early Struggles and Prejudice to Find Success in the Music Industry" Senior Group Performance by Rebecca Rhodes and Bridget Yusko