The deeper Lauren Landolfi dug, the more the Huntington High School sophomore knew she was onto something very important that we wanted to shine a light on. The teenager went to work and created something very special, garnering this year’s American Labor History Award for her National History Day exhibit titled “Lewis Wicks Hine: Photographs that Forever Changed Child Labor in America”
“I was inspired to choose my topic when I became intrigued with the unit we were reviewing in my Global History class,” Ms. Landolfi said. “I had always had a fascination with photography as an art form and was very curious as to how photography became an essential part of the child labor reform movements during the Industrial Revolution in the United States.”
Ms. Landolfi leads a very busy life. She has a full academic schedule as well as performing with the Blue Devil marching band and the high school jazz band and wind ensemble. She is even on the staff of “The Dispatch,” Huntington High School’s student newspaper.
“I started my research process by looking into photography’s overall impact on historical movements to get a general idea of just how influential it could be,” Ms. Landolfi said. “During a unit on the Industrial Revolution our class had learned that Lewis Hine was a key figure in the use of photography as a method of altering child labor laws in the United States. So I then used library books and reliable internet sources to look specifically at Lewis Hine’s actions within the movement.”
Ms. Landolfi’s favorite subject is social studies. Her favorite teacher is Brian Stellato. She is especially interested in criminology and a possible career as a criminal profiler.
“Overall, I am pleased with the outcome of my project,” Ms. Landolfi said. “Although I wish I had spent more time on the smaller details, such the physical parts of the presentation or the organization of my written work, I believe I did a commendable job for National History Day.”
