Huntington Historians Advance to State Finals

Huntington High School will be well represented at next month’s State History Day finals at SUNY Oneonta. A pair of National History Day projects captured first place in the Long Island regional competition at Hofstra University last weekend. The Blue Devils also won three other awards in the contest, which drew 337 total projects developed by more than 600 students.

Huntington’s Caitlin Maher Dubnau won first place in the Historical Paper category for her work titled “The Shot Glass Heard Around the World: The Stonewall Uprising as an Ideological Turning Point in the Gay Rights Movement.”

Heileen Torres, Emely Herrera Rivas and Jessica Bree garnered first place in the Group Website category for their project titled “The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906: The Reinvention & Enhancement Of The Food Industry.”

Huntington High School social studies Lauren Desiderio, who coordinates the district’s National History Day initiative called the LI regional results “great news.” The winning projects will vie for state honors on April 14 at SUNY Oneonta.

“We are very proud of all of our participants,” Mrs. Desiderio said. The national theme of this year’s National History Day program is “Turning Points in History.” This theme must be incorporated into all aspects of every project.

Huntington sophomore Ruby Hoffman won third place honors at Hofstra in the Individual Exhibit category for her project titled “Kate Sheppard: A Turning Point in Women’s Suffrage.”

Huntington students also captured two special awards. Junior Isabella Careccia-Johnson’s Individual Exhibit titled “Unbought and Unbossed: The Political Career of Shirley Chisholm” was named the Outstanding Senior Entry on African American History sponsored by the Oyster Bay Historical Society.

The Group Website category project created by Heileen Torres, Emely Herrera Rivas and Jessica Bree and titled The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906: The Reinvention & Enhancement Of The Food Industry won the Outstanding Senior Entry on American History Award, which is sponsored by the Huntington Historical Society.

Approximately 400 Huntington UFSD students participated in this year’s local contest with students across grades 6-12 submitting projects, which were judged by faculty members.