Westwood Students win with research papers at National History Day in South Carolina State competition
Ashley Auspelmyer Westwood High School
Posted: May 1, 2014 10:01am EDT Updated: May 1, 2014 10:01am EDT
BLYTHEWOOD, SC (WHS-TV) - After months of research and preparation, two Westwood High School students placed at the National History Day in South Carolina State level competition, held April 26 at the school. Chinenye Agim, a sophomore at Westwood High School, won 3rd place, and Patricia Ploehn, a junior at Westwood High School, won 1st place, in the senior division historical paper category. Ploehn will present her historical research paper, "The Rights and Responsibilities of Heiresses in Transatlantic Marriages during the Gilded Age," at the annual Kenneth E. Behring National History Day contest, to be held at the University of Maryland College Park Campus in the Washington, D.C. area June 15-19.
Both students have spent the school year researching and writing historical papers on topics of their choice based on this year’s theme, Rights and Responsibilities.
“I chose my topic mainly because of my trip to the UK during the summer before 10th grade, and the inspiration I got from watching Downton Abbey,” Ploehn said.
Agim strove to select a topic “that had a huge impact on current affairs.” Her 3rd place paper examines “The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 and its Effects on the Rights on Medical Marijuana Patients.”
Ploehn and Agim are members of SOAR Academy, Westwood High School’s honors program, and participated in History Day as a component of their SOAR Academy research seminar class. Ashley Auspelmyer, Director of SOAR Academy and the research seminar teacher, is last year’s Senior Level National History Day in South Carolina Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year. Westwood High School hosted this year’s National History Day in South Carolina State Competition, where hundreds of students from around the state competed for a chance to attend nationals.
“I'm excited to be able to meet other students from around the U.S., and learn about their topics and their History Day process in their individual state competitions,” Ploehn said. “I'm also really looking forward to being so close to Washington, D.C. because I love history and our nation's capital, and I'm excited to be able to spend time there.”
Each fall over half a million students nationwide begin the year-long National History Day program, competing in a series of history contests in their local schools, regions and affiliates. The top students in each category at the state level are selected for participation in the national contest. National History Day students research historic documents and artifacts, conduct oral histories, search the Internet for information on their topics, and travel to historic sites. They present their work in a variety of ways, by creating exhibits, documentaries, performances, web sites, or historical research papers.
Over 300 historians and other education professionals evaluate the students’ work at the national competition. $150,000 worth of scholarships will be awarded at the national awards ceremony to select students, and approximately 100 students will take home cash prizes between $250 and $5,000 for superior work in a particular category of judging.
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Chinenye Agim (L), a sophomore at Westwood High School, won 3rd place, and Patricia Ploehn (R), a junior at Westwood High School, won 1st place in the senior division historical paper category. Ploehn will present her historical research paper at the annual Kenneth E. Behring National History Day contest in June. (Source: Westwood High School)
The students are members of SOAR Academy, Westwood High School’s honors program, and participated in History Day as a component of their SOAR Academy research seminar class. Their teacher, Ashley Auspelmyer (M), Director of SOAR Academy, is last year’s Senior Level National History Day in South Carolina Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year. (Source: Westwood High School)