PWC student a winner in National History Day contest

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC) is excited to announce results from National History Day’s (NHD) National Contest. Between May 25th and June 16th, 49 Virginia students, ranging from grades 6-12 and representing every region of the Commonwealth, competed against 3,000+ students from across the country. 

Virginia History Day is the state affiliate of the National History Day program. Similar to a science fair, but for history, the National History Day Contest was founded in 1974 to inspire students to conduct original historical research.

Since its creation, the contest has grown into an international competition with more than half-a-million participants and thousands of dollars in scholarship awards and prizes annually.

“Creating a project for the National History Day Contest is challenging. It requires hard work and dedication. But, it also provides great reward,” said Dr. Cathy Gorn, National History Day® Executive Director. “The skills of conducting research and recognizing credible sources are crucial to increasing civic engagement in young people.”

Virginia’s student delegation did exceptionally well at this year’s National Contest.

Among the winners were Caroline Bruton and Kayla Shaller, 8th graders from William Monroe Middle in Greene County, who placed 1st in the Junior Group Documentary category with their film, “Communicating Through Cell Walls: The Secret Correspondence of American POWs in Vietnam.”

Caroline and Kayla investigated the importance of secret communication methods of American POWs during the Vietnam War and how they created a support network that kept their morale up and helped them survive their ordeal. These successful tactics are still taught to American servicemen today.

Also from William Monroe Middle, 6th grader Mukund Marri placed 8th with his documentary, “Navajo Code: The Unbreakable Code,” which told the story of Navajo code talkers during World War II.

From Prince William County’s Mary J. Porter Traditional School, 7th grader Julienne Lim placed 9th in the Junior Individual Website category with her project, “Devil Dog Canines: A Line of Communication in World War II.”

Julienne focused on the important role messenger dogs played in sending battlefield communications in the Pacific Theatre of World War II.

Additionally, Julienne received the United State Marine Corps History Award. Sponsored by the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, this prize is awarded to an outstanding entry that demonstrates an appreciation of Marine Corps history.