National History Day insights from NHDAZ teacher Stacey Trepanier

 Stacey Trepanier, NHD teacher extraordinaire, writes about the program and her son Grant, "NHD 2026 is a wrap. A fantastic journey. I am truly lucky to work with such amazing students, be supported by awesome parents and blessed to have Grant Trepanier by my side copiloting this wild ride!"

The Historical League is proud to support the incredible National History Day program!

Note Thanvi Voruganti and Dorothy Zhou placed Senior Group Documentary Finalist

NHD students at University of Maryland, College Park

 Our NHD AZ students have been busy the past two days with their interviews! Now we wait for finals and finalist announcements before the awards ceremony on Thursday morning.

Great job everyone!

The Historical League is VERY proud of these students and happy to help sponsor their journeys in National History Day competitions.

Thanvi Voruganti

Adrien Piel

Ethan Tsay

Hanna Nguyen and Mai Piel

Saanvi Panasa and Zunairah Qasim

Nathan Davies-Venn

SWAG, SWAG and SWAG for NHD students

What's better than free stuff? T-shirts, zip hoodies, pins, lunch, cowboy hats . . . NHDAZ students have worked very hard and deserve the freebies as they are going to National Competition in Washington, D.C. in June. They will be strutting their new swag at the many gatherings that will take place. 

Thanks to Jennifer and Charles Sands for the lunch and zip hoodies at Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West, another sponsor for NHD. Thanks to the Historical League for sponsoring the NHD program all year providing funding for air travel, transportation for exhibits, special monetary awards for Arizona themes. volunteers at events and judges at competitions. 

Historical League volunteers Pam den Draak, Cathy Shumard,
NHD students Nathan Davies-Venn and Max Luo, Josie Pete, Ruth McLeod, Jolynn Clarke

Just my size!! Thanvi Vorguganti, and Dorothy Zhou

Mai Piel, Thanvi Vorguganti, and Dorothy Zhou are happy to get zip hoodies

Bags filled with swag are gladly received by the students

Historical League President Pam den Draak hands out checks for air travel and exhibit transportation

Cathy Shumard and Pam den Draak hand out checks to Max and Nathan for Arizona themes

Cowboy hats ready for each student to customize

Exhibits going to National History Day Final Competition in June

 National History Day students have choices of how to present the theme "Rights and Responsibilities". They can design a website, write a paper, do a documentary, act a performance or create an exhibit. Check out these very interesting and elaborate exhibits that NHDAZ students are taking to College Park, University of Maryland in June for final competitions. 

Years ago we learned how expensive it is for students to ship their exhibits. Many could afford to ship them to College Park, Maryland but could not afford to ship them back home to Arizona so . . . they threw them away. How heart-breaking after all that research and work. The Historical League stepped up and now sponsors the transportation of those exhibits with $200 funding.

Diana and David Smith attend NHD National Competition

 Attending the National History Day awards ceremony at the University of Maryland was truly an exhilarating five-hour experience for my husband, David, and me. More than 2,000 students recognized some of the most noteworthy turning point history in the world and celebrated its important impact on our lives. We credit the teachers and students' families, the national and state organizers and especially the hours of work everyone dedicated to making June 2024's event inspiring.

Who/what did we see? More than 2,000 students receiving and being recognized for outstanding work on the 2024 theme—Turning Points in History. We witnessed their enthusiasm to share with everyone why they chose their topic.

Our impression of NHD? A well coordinated effort to recognize students --Junior High Division and High School Division competitions—for their work creating their projects. The team efforts and support of friends cheering their classmates and others from their state was so personally heartwarming. Dave and I believe the students enjoyed NHD. We met many of the students

during a day at Smithsonian's Museum of American History, where selected exhibits were on display. The students hosted visitors and explained their exhibit to all. We saw a wide range of topics (turning points in history) and were able to hear from the students how and why they selected that theme.

Students were advocates for their project—very willing to explain, defend and interact with all visitors. Many of the exhibit projects were done by two or three students working together, and they said they became better friends because of the project.

We met students at the African American Museum where the documentary projects were showcased. Their enthusiasm and focus on their projects and pride of featuring their theme were infectious.

We would definitely go again!

From Old Ned Newsletter June 2024

 So proud of these NHDAZ students. Check out the First Place Winners at National Competition from AZ. The Historical League strongly supports National History Day Arizona.

NHDAZ Students Send Thank You letters

The Historical League was delighted to support travel and exhibit shipping costs for NHDAZ students who went to National Competition in College Park at University of Maryland in June.

Heidy Rabago competed in NHDAZ with exhibit "The Shirtwaist Factory Fire: A Turning Point in Workplace Reforms". Along with fellow students Natalie, Brianna, and Jayden, Heidy told a very significant story. Her Thank You letter was appreciated: My name is Heidy Rabago. I participated in the National History Day National Competition this past June, and my project was in the senior group exhibit category. Traveling to Washington D.C and participating in the NHD competition this year was lots of fun and truly one of the highlights of my summer, because through my involvement in this competition not only was I able to further develop my personal skills, but I was also able to learn about all the different ways some of the turning points in history have impacted the world we live in today, which was truly inspiring. Thank you so much!

Heidy Rabago at National Competition, College Park, MD

National History Day: Arizona students awards June 15, 2017

Arizona students received awards at the June 15, 2017, National History Day – National Competition Awards Ceremony.

The Historical League is very pleased to support this outstanding program! National History Day in Arizona (NHDAZ) is coordinated by the Arizona Historical Society and is supported in part by a grant from the Historical League, Inc.  This year nearly 400 students from around Arizona participated in NHDAZ. Fifty of these Arizona students earned the chance to compete in the National History Day Contest in College Park, Maryland.
Saba Shakir, from New Vistas Center for Education in Chandler, took 1st Place out of 100 entries in the Junior Individual Websites division/category. Saba’s project was titled “The Silent Stand: Tinker vs. Des Moines.”
Aidan Scott from Heritage Academy Gateway in Mesa received the Junior Division Outstanding State Entry Award for his Junior Historical Paper titled “William Tyndale: A Stand for the Common Man.”
This year’s Senior Division Outstanding State Entry Award went to Frankie O’Neill for her Senior Individual Documentary project titled “Show Boat: Navigating the River of Racism”. Her project took 7th place nationally in the Senior Individual Documentary category. Frankie is from Westwood High School in Mesa.
Neera Patel, a sixth grader from Chandler, was selected to exhibit her Junior Individual Exhibit, “Taking a Stand Amidst Terror”, on June 14, 2017, at the National Museum of American History. During regular museum hours Neera was visited by museum guests and discussed her exhibit regarding the role of Sophie Scholl in the White Rose resistance group in Nazi Germany.
For more information on how you can get involved with NHDAZ visit www.nhdaz.org.