Licking Heights Middle School eighth graders participated in the Ohio History Day state competition on Saturday after advancing from the Region 6 competition last month. The state contest took place on April 26 at Capital University where over 500 students from across Ohio competed for a shot at advancing to the National History Day contest at the University of Maryland. While neither group advanced to the national contest, all were proud of their performances this past weekend.
“Ohio History Day was such a great experience, and I am forever thankful for the group of girls I got to do this with,” eighth-grader Layla Price said. “I would 100 percent do this again.”
Selamawit Mulugeta and Arianna Williams documentary The Brady Bill: Reload Your Rights and Aaralyn Scarf, Clara Lynn Shiflett, Evelyn Rossi, Isha Bista, and Layla Price’s performance piece entitled "Women of the Revolution Change HIStory" were in the top three for their respective categories at the Region 6 competition. To qualify for national competition, students had to be in the top two of their respective categories.
Eighth grade social studies teacher Carla Smith said these young ladies should be proud of all they have accomplished. “These girls worked hard conducting research, formulating a thesis, writing, and performing,” Smith said. “These students did not have to do the contest, they wanted to do the contest.”
Smith opened the contest to both seventh and eighth graders in November. While about 25 initially began the project, only seven completed it, Smith said. The girls who completed the project worked with Smith during lunch, study hall, and after school.
"This project taught me a lot,” Price said. “It taught me how to work with a group of people with different opinions and strengths. Even though the project was intense, it was a fun challenge.”
“I learned the skills needed to research a topic and then put it into a presentable format,” Mulugeta said. “These skills will be essential when it comes to higher education and future opportunities.”
Ohio History Day is a free, interdisciplinary learning program for students in middle and high school. It is affiliated with National History Day and encourages students to conduct research, analyze information and present their findings through five different formats. Students can choose to present through an exhibit, paper, documentary, performance or website.
Students began their projects in November focusing on this year’s theme, Rights and Responsibilities. Mulugeta’s documentary The Brady Bill: Reload Your Rights showed viewers that the right to gun ownership comes with tremendous responsibility. The performance piece entitled "Women of the Revolution Change HIStory," highlighted stories of the Daughters of Liberty and how women were responsible in playing a major role in winning the right to freedom from Great Britain.
“This was an amazing experience that I know me and the rest of the girls will never forget,” Mulugeta said.