The Long Island regional finals and the National History Day state championships are going virtual this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Following guidelines laid out by New York State officials and by National History Day headquarters, New York History Day will be held as a virtual contest this year,” said Michelle Bosma, New York History Day coordinator. “Details with be forthcoming. We recognize the enormous talent, enthusiasm and hard work of the students whose projects have advanced from the local and regional levels. We look forward to facilitating the competition in a new format in line with the 2020 theme, ‘Breaking Barriers in History.’ This competition will certainly be a memorable one.”
Huntington UFSD students have achieved notable success over the years in the National History Day initiative. Huntington High School social studies teacher Lauren Desiderio, who serves as the History Day Club’s faculty advisor and who coordinates the district’s NHD program, hopes to continue the sensational tradition.
“We have a very strong set of entries across all contest categories,” Mrs. Desiderio said. “Our students have worked incredibly hard and are excited to present their projects in whatever format that is required.”
SEARCH program teacher Jessica Risalvato worked with sixth graders at Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School and Woodhull Intermediate School and J. Taylor Finley Middle School social studies teacher Jarrad Richter guided seventh and eighth graders.
Huntington UFSD’s Long Island regional qualifiers include:
Senior Division (Grades 9-12)
Individual Performance
- Sarah Biernacki: Temple Grandin: Being a Visionary and Thinking Visually
Historical Paper
- Madelyn Kye: “Cian Jian: Circumventing the Barrier of Chinese Censorship Through Rock and Roll”
- Grace Wildermuth: “Integration in Malverne, New York: Barriers to Equal Education”
- Tess Stanley: “Nellie Bly: The Girl Who Cried ‘Muckraker’”
Individual Exhibit
- Cassidy Casabona: “The Navajo Code Talkers: Breaking Barriers with their Unbreakable Code”
- Sophie Bradford: “Alan Turing: Breaking the Enigma Code”
- Teddi Carnesi: “Amelia Earhart: The Feminist Flyer”
Group Exhibit
- Allison Malone and Cecilia Kye: “Lois Weber: Breaking Barriers in History”
- Izabela Cuji and Lauren Gennarelli: “Wangari Maathai: Breaking Barriers One Tree at a Time”
- Katie Brown, Emily Geller and Christopher Maichin: “Nellie Bly: Shattering the Glass Ceiling One Headline at a Time”
Individual Documentary
- Sophia Matheus: “The Development of Music Therapy”
- Keira Francis: “Star Trek: Shifting Cultural Norms”
- Allison Quinn: “WASP in WWII: Shattering Gender Stereotypes”
Group Documentary
- Kianna Criscuola and Emily Plachta: “Breaking Barriers in History: Pope John Paul II”
- Morgan Colleluori, Alexis Kaloudis and Sophia Toscano: “The Walt Disney Company: Advancing Animation for the Future”
- Ally Kustera and Emily Roberts: “The Artistic Power of West Side Story”
Individual Website
- Chloe Buffone: “Elinor Smith: The Flying Flapper of Freeport”
- Emma Hannigan: “The Disability Rights Movement”
- Haileigh Smith: “Wendell Smith: The Fight for Racial Equality on and off the Field”
Group Website
- Erik Flores and Hannah Roberts: “Breaking Barriers in History: Bilingual Education in the U.S.”
- Talia Addeo, Laurel Bonn and McKenna Buffa: “Miracle in the Mold: Penicillin Breaking Barriers in Medicine”
- Erin Ye, Ella Siepel, Valerie Rogel and Andrew McKenzie: “Evolving Standards of Decency: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty for Minors”
Junior Division (Grades 6-8)
Individual Exhibit
- Kymora Dorvilus (Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School): “Central Park Five”
- Sean Landolfi (Finley Middle School): “Paul Revere”
Group Exhibit
- Ryan DiVico, Claire Parks and Ronan Sosnowski (Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School): “The Berlin Wall”
- Griffin Kanzer and Nicholas Plachta (Finley Middle School): “The Manhattan Project: Breaking Barriers for Better or Worse”
Group Documentary
- Kiley Barch, Emma Boyle, Mia Miller, Louisa Skrobela and Jaipreet Singh (Woodhull Intermediate School): “Sophie Scholl: With Voices Come Revolutions”
- Erin Hanlon, Jesley Martinez Canales, Sage Cicciari and Bridget Callery (Woodhull Intermediate School): “Amelia Earhart: Adventure is Worthwhile in Itself”
Historical Paper
- Reilly Jacobi (Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School): “The History of Nintendo: Continually Breaking Barriers”
Group Performance
- Domenica Elgart and Shannon Koepele (Woodhull Intermediate School): “Women’s Fight for their Rights”
- Emily Kustera and Tess Markotsis (Finley Middle School): “Billie Breaks Barriers: Billie Jean King and the Fight for Women’s Equality”
Individual Website
- Joanna Kasindorf (Finley Middle School): “Breaking Through Racial Barriers: Harriet Glickman and Charles Schulz Introduce Franklin to the World”
Individual Documentary
- Aine Rimkunas (Finley Middle School): “Jacques Cousteau: Breaking Barriers in Undersea Exploration and Conservation”
