History Day

Hayden Washegesic from Baseline Middle School in South Haven finished in fifth place in the Junior Individual Performance category. His entry title was "AIM: The Natives Fight Back." Hayden also was named the Outstanding Affiliate Junior Division, Smithsonian's National Museum of American History Performance Showcase.

Kate VandenBogerd, Macy VanDyke, Madison DeVries, and Maybelle Schipper from Providence Christian School in Kalamazoo placed in the top 30 in the Junior Group Website category. Their entry title was "Florence Nightengale: The Lady with the Lamp."

Aliah Mohmand from Kalamazoo Central High School placed in the top 30 in the Senior Individual Website category. Her entry title was "The Jonestown Tragedy: A Turning Point in Society's Perception of New Religious Movements."

Note: State History Day Results and State Special Awards are noted in bold.

Youth Individual Documentary

Caleb Sherburne, “The Bombs That Silenced the World” (Third Place; Best Entry in Naval or Maritime History)

Jamesetta Crider, “The Phonograph: The Invention That Made Recording Sounds Possible”

Peyton Washegesic, “Gettysburg: The Battle That Turned the Tide”

Youth Group Documentary

Charlotte Foley, Mackenzie Lepisto, “The Transcontinental Railroad” (First Place)

Grayson Barnes, Silas Vanlandingham, Nolan Barnes, “Goal! How a Hockey Game Inspired America (Second Place)

Elijah Classen, Lennon Cole, Oliver Dickens, “The Fab Four: How a Group Called the Beatles Changed Music (Third Place)

Youth Individual Exhibit

Alec Perski, “Japanese Internment Camp: A Personal Family Journey of Freedom Lost and Hope Found” (First Place; Best Entry in Use of Family History)

Eloise Mott, “The Stonewall Uprising” (Second Place)

Lucia Kukarik, “The Lifesaving Light: How a Blink of Light Saves Lives” (Third Place)

Youth Group Exhibit

Quinn Johnson, Annabel Loeser, Lillian Smith, “DNA: A Turning Point in Forensics” (First Place)

Aubrey Bray and Ellie Priebe, “A Turning Point for Equality: Marching Toward the 19th Amendment” (Second Place; The Adler Award for Best Entry in Women’s History)

Anya Oostveen and Carsyn VanderMolen, “Rosa Parks: The Mother of the Civil Rights Movement” 

Youth Paper

Phillip Myklebust, “The Great Wall of China” (First Place)

Youth Individual Performance

Starlin Trafton, “Punching Dots into Braille” (Second Place)

Noah Saucedo, “Bruce Lee: Punching Chinese Culture into America” (Third Place)

Patrick Marks, “Cornelius Vanderbilt and His Railroads”

Youth Group Performance

Anna Dozeman, Ayse Lent, Madeline Trichler, “The Seneca Falls Convention” (First Place)

Kathryn Ahrens, Grace Klein, “A Turning Point in History: Harriet Tubman and the Fight for Freedom” (Second Place)

Colten Monaghan, Cameron Venick, “The Wright Brothers” (Third Place)

Youth Group Website

Loriann Soileau, Sydney Soileau, “Lady Lighthouse Keepers of the Great Lakes” (Second Place; Best Entry in Michigan History)

Junior Group Documentary

Annika Chalupa and Addison Williams, “Wind Talkers: The Hidden Voices Behind Victory” (National Finalist)

Lucy Sikkema, Charlie Toy, “Germ Theory"

Caroline Zarotney, Sylvie Moersch, Jenna Jasheway, “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall: The Berlin Wall and Reunification of Germany”

Junior Individual Exhibit

Madeleine Duhn, “Penicillin: A Turning Point in Medical History”

Gertrude Herman-Wilmouth, “How Dr. Harvey Cushing Created a Turning Point in Neuroscience History”

Abram Lee-Gardner, “Nine Hours of Sorrow: Omaha Beach D-Day”

Junior Group Exhibit

Aurora Quinn, Maisy Newton, “Vanderbilt and the Erie Railway War”

Junior Paper

Bodie Bencik, “World War II: Strategic Victory in the Pacific Theater”

Junior Individual Performance

Hayden Washegesic, “AIM: The Natives Fight Back” (National Finalist)

Oliver Sparling, “William Shakespeare”

Patrick Marks, “Cornelius Vanderbilt and His Railroads”

Junior Group Performance

Ben Ambs, Max Doepker, “The Manhattan Project”

Junior Individual Website

Aaron Crider, “Odyssey: The History of the Magnavox Odyssey” (National Alternate)

Simon Garyet, “The Korean War: The Turning Point of Two Nations”

Junior Group Website

Madison DeVries, Maybelle Schipper, Kate VandenBogard, Macy VanDyke, “Florence Nightengale: The Lady with the Lamp” (National Finalist)

Eloise Christian, Savanna DeVisser, Natalie Dingemans, Reagan Schipper, “Rogues Gallery: A Snapshot of the Future” (National Alternate)

Marten Kleppe, Charity VanBrugge, Jedidiah VanBrugge, “Michigan’s Miraculous Manufacturing”

Senior Individual Documentary

Jacob Kaczmarek, “Operation Barbarossa: How Hitler Turned the War on Himself”

Senior Individual Exhibit

Aliah Mohmand, “The Jonestown Tragedy: A Turning Point in Society’s Perception of New Religious Movements” (National Finalist; James Campbell Award for Best Use of Oral History)

Ezekiel Fenstermaker, “Why Did James Longstreet Support Reconstruction?” (National Finalist)

Owen Burleson, “Truman Doctrine: A Stance Against Communism”

Senior Group Exhibit

Gabriella Duron, Ellie Fenstermaker, “The Impact of Martin Luther King, Jr.”

Aryn Ortiz, Lydia Miner, “The Influence and Fall of the Roman Empire”

Senior Paper

Natalee Faulker, “Chemotherapy: A Turning Point in the Fight Against Cancer”

Morgan Harmon, “The Effects of the War on Drugs on the American Prison System”

Senior Individual Performance

Ruby Peterson, “The Jazz Age: The Music That Changed America” (National Finalist)

Senior Group Website

Carter Barker, Josh Beck, Nolan Sempert, Sam Hruska, “The Dot-Com Dilemma”