15 Decorah students compete at the State Finals of the History Day competition

Posted: Wed, May 1, 2019 4:25 PM

(Front row, left to right): Sophia Christman, Leslie Campbell, Ashley Bjork, Kiah Tweten, Ella Grouws and Tiana Frana. (Back row, left to right): Sophia Gallentine, Mairi Sessions, Amelia Dugger, Grace Hoyland, Ada Lovelace, Abby Woosley and Victor Merritt . (Not pictured): Casey Brickley

15 Decorah Middle School 8th graders participated in the State History Day competition held in Des Moines earlier this week.

Ada Lovelace qualified for History Day Nationals, which will be held at the University of Maryland June 9th-13th. Her Individual performance, "Edith Eger: The Dancer who Survived the Holocaust," received the Women in History Award.

Sophia Gallentine was announced as an alternate for the national competition because of her individual documentary, "Mary McLeod Bethune: Educator and Matriarch," which won the African-American History Award.

Other students participating and their projects were:

--Mairi Sessions and Amelia Dugger: "Robert Capa and Gerda Taro: Photojournalists who Brought the Realities of War to Life."
--Casey Brickley and Victor Merritt: "The Hidden Massacre of Greenwood"
--Ashley Bjork and Kiah Tweten: "Rodney King and the L.A. Riots"
--Max Wilson: "Armistice Blizzard of 1940"
--Abby Woosley: "The Manhattan Project: The Atomic Bomb"
--Leslie Campbell: "Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell: Life of a Female Physician"
--Ella Grouws: "Helen Taussig: Blue Baby Syndrome"
--Tiana Frana and Grace Hoyland: "Freedom Summer: A Fight for the Right to Vote"
--Sophia Christman: "Munster, Germany Anabaptists"