In an age when misinformation abounds, and some try to change history to fit their political agendas, one national non-profit is seeking to create informed citizens who engage thoughtfully with civics and their place in history.
National History Day, or more commonly NHD, is much more than just a day. It’s a national organization that aims to help students grow and develop a deep understanding of their own cultural and historical context.
Students sixth through twelfth grade take NHD as an elective class, and work on a single research project for the full year. They can choose to present their research as a documentary, a website, an exhibit, a paper or a performance, and can compete first at local regionals, then at the state, and finally national levels.
Julie Autry is a senior at Moriarty High School who is participating in her fourth round of NHD. Last year she won the national competition with her project that researched the impact and history of women’s integration into the Marines.
She said the program has been central in shaping who she is today.
“Because of the confidence instilled in me by my teacher and the skills that I learned during that class, I was able to grow as a person,” she said. “And that, overall, influenced my entire high school career and is going to influence my college career as well.”
She said she still wants to be a fighter pilot, and originally planned on studying aerospace engineering, but now thinks she may instead want to work at a museum. She said at the national competition last year, the experience was powerful enough to make her reflect on her future.
“Being in DC, surrounded by all of that history, and then being able to present history in my own little museum, was the tip on the scale to push me towards preserving history for future generations,” Autry said.
Her classmate, Andrew Ritter, did a project last year on Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia and this year he’s exploring the 1979 Russian invasion of Afghanistan. He, too, originally thought he wanted to be an engineer.
“And then NHD really made me think I'm not really that good at engineering, because I'm not that good at math, and I'm pretty good at this history stuff, so why not pursue something political science, international affairs?” he said. “And my heart has been dead set on that for the past two years now.”
Stephanie Wilson, a former teacher of fifteen years, and the New Mexico coordinator for NHD, said it’s been here for decades, but really took a hit during the pandemic. Since then, however, the program has been growing.
“We actually have a pretty strong program,” she said. “Despite us being a small state, we tend to hold our own at Nationals, and we tend to win at Nationals.”
Wilson’s own son, a seventh grader at Coyote Willow Family School, is starting his first NHD project this year – a documentary about the OJ Simpson and Rodney King trials. He said he’s looking forward to honing his research skills throughout the year-long project, but also points out that he’s learning other skills.
“Well, I'm working with a partner for my documentary, McKenna. I just want good communication to make sure that we both get our perspectives in, and our fair share of work in,” he said. “I'm starting to research, and there will probably be bigger worries in the future, but right now, I just want to focus on communication.”
Those soft skills are integral to NHD, and Wilson said those lessons are very much intentional.
“I think that it teaches children to think critically and to think creatively, which can be applied to either college or career,” she said. “I think that it’s critical to any democratic republic that people be educated enough to understand if they are reading something that is true or not, to form their own opinions and to basically be able to express those opinions in an educated way.”
Wilson said she works hard with partners to try to make sure the program is as widely available to as many students as possible.The New Mexico Humanities Council is one of those partners who help provide travel, or funds to get to nationals for students who are less advantaged.
Brandon Johnson, the council’s executive director, said if the students show any sort of need, the council does its best to support them.
“You know, giving young people a chance to think about the present in the context of the past is really pretty important,” he said. “It's great to see these young people excel right in something that's essential for our republic. It's also just fun to watch them, kind of, you know, use their imaginations, use their creativity to think about the past, right?”
The students agree, especially about the fun part, and say teachers in particular made the process worthwhile.
While interviewing with KUNM for the story, Autry and Ritter said they wanted to “shout out” their favorite teacher.
“Miss Page!” they said in unison, with smiles on their faces and laughter in response.
That’s Amy Page, formerly of Moriarty High School, where she was named NHD’s teacher of the year in 2022. Autry and Ritter both said “Miss Page” encouraged and supported countless students.
Ritter said he thinks a student can only do so much, but that changes with proper guidance.
“Without a teacher, there is no instruction. And Miss Page brought that instruction tenfold,” he said. “It was, she was, she was one of the greatest teachers, in my opinion, in my humble opinion.
Wilson said that sentiment is common with NHD competitors because the teacher's role is integral.
“National History Day really is teacher-driven, and it's really finding those teachers who are willing to try something new, and it is scary to try something new, but who are willing to do that in order to bring these opportunities to their students,” she said.
Wilson said a large part of her job is working directly with teachers, either making sure students have what they need to learn and compete, or by making sure the teachers have the support they need.
Teachers have told her they often find benefits for themselves, Wilson said, as well as the students.
“It’s not an extra, it is not something that they will take on as an extra duty. It is actually a program that will make their jobs easier,” she said. “It will produce better results in their students. It will make them into better teachers. There's tons of opportunities available for professional development.”
Regional competitions will be held in the spring throughout New Mexico with the state competition in April.
Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
