Jordana Boxer called upon her previous experience in the National History Day initiative to develop a project that placed among the best in the individual website category at the Long Island regionals and qualified for the state finals this spring.
Titled “Debate and Diplomacy in the Achille Lauro Hijacking,” Ms. Boxer’s website captured the imagination of judges. The Achille Lauro was an Italian ocean liner that was hijacked by four terrorists in October 1985 off the coast of Egypt. The hijackers murdered a 69 year old wheelchair bound American and threw him overboard, outraging the world.
“Jordana built upon her sixth and seventh grade National History Day experiences to take this year’s project on the Achille Lauro hijacking to the next level,” said Finley social studies teacher Jarrad Richter, who serves as the faculty advisor for the school’s Yorker Club and coordinates the National History Day program in the building.
“She demonstrated a great enthusiasm for her chosen topic and a solid commitment to developing, creating, and revising her website over the last six months,” Mr. Richter said. “I’m proud of her and the work she has done.”
Ms. Boxer is an excellent student and highly regarded around Finley by her teachers and classmates. He works hard and takes every class seriously, but she likes to have fun, too.
“Putting together my National History Day project was really cool,” Ms. Boxer said. “I got to research the Achille Lauro hijacking and learn about the events that led up to it. I also learned how this one terrorist attack, which took place over 35 years ago and that few of us even know about, continues to impact our daily lives.”