Students from Lake County Schools secured 23 of the top honors in the annual Lake County History Day competition held March 2, 2019, at the Lake County Historical Museum in Tavares. Seven area middle schools and three high schools participated in this year’s program, with more than 160 students who entered a total of 106 history projects related to this year’s theme, Triumph and Tragedy in History.
The National History Day program annually engages more than a half million students across the nation. The objective of the competition is for students who participate in the program to gain a greater knowledge and appreciation of the recorded past, become confident historical researchers, strengthen literacy and critical thinking skills and develop other skills like collaboration, time management and perseverance. This year, students were prompted to research history topics of their choice related to the theme Triumph and Tragedy in History and create exhibits, documentaries, performances and essays, which they could enter in competitions at the district, affiliate, and national levels.
District competitors were identified from a pool of contestants who competed at school contests throughout the county. First and second place winners at the district competition will advance to the Florida History Day contest, set for May 5-7, 2019, at Tallahassee Community College. Those who place first or second at Florida History Day will advance to the National History Day at the University of Maryland at a later date.
The following is a list of winners from Lake County History Day:
| Division/Category | Winners |
| Senior Paper | First Place: Apartheid in South Africa, Ricardo Lasso, East Ridge High School
Second Place: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Agricultural Industry, Sophia Welsh – South Lake High School |
| Senior Individual Exhibit | First Place: The Tragedy and Triumph of Vincent van Gogh, Hannah Recotta Wheeler, Real Life Christian
Second Place: Florida Lighthouses, Grace McCormack – Real Life Christian |
| Senior Individual Website | First Place: Decree 770: One Man’s Triumphant Decree is a Nation’s Tragedy, Ryanne Lapierre – Real Life Christian
Second Place: The Great Race of Mercy- Men and Dogs Save Nome from Diphtheria, Alex Gilmore – Real Life Christian |
| Senior Individual Documentary | First Place: Dreams of the Sea, Joe Pinto – Real Life Christian |
| Senior Group Performance | First Place: Christa McAuliffe and the Challenger Tragedy, Schuyler Thompson, Maclaine Thompson, Faith Eaton, John Braddock- Real Life Christian
Second Place: The Forgotten Story: The Bataan Death March, Brynna Hower, Parker Kruse, Jai Price, Alexis Miller – South Lake High School |
| Senior Group Exhibit | First Place: Wilma Rudolph, Lauren Ludwig, Sarah Henderson – Real Life Christian
Second Place: A Road to Equality, Angelica Rangel, Damarys Rosado – South Lake High School |
| Senior Group Website | First Place: Accepting the Insanity: Dorothea Dix’s Fight for Fair treatment, Katelynn Blythe, Miranda Czerniakowski, Rylee Galilei, Zackary Zuniga- East Ridge High School
Second Place: The Space Race and the Cold War: The Death of an Ideology, Alana Braddock, Jordan Brewster, Max Hanson- Real Life Christian |
| Senior Group Documentary | First Place: Free at Last: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement, Luis Granados, Jeremy Garcia, Luis Perez, Jonas Garcia- South Lake High School
Second Place: The Space Race, Eriel Picardo, Rebekah Mancia- East Ridge High School |
| Junior Paper | First Place: The Holocaust: A Tragedy with a Triumphant Recovery, Zoe Carmi- Mount Dora Middle School
Second Place: Symbol of Pride, Faith Whitt – Eustis Middle School |
| Junior Individual Performance | First Place: Corrie ten Boom, Ashley Nadeau – Real Life Christian
Second Place: Malala: Shot but not Silent, Angelina Falcon – Windy Hill Middle School |
| Junior Individual Exhibit | First Place: The Tramp, Charlie Chaplin, Gwenevere Dizon-Windy Hill Middle School
Second Place: 9/11, Lexie Clow – Umatilla Middle School |
| Junior Individual Website | First Place: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, Ellen Carron – Eustis Middle School
Second Place: The Triumph of Gutenberg’s Printing Press, Olivia Wolters – Windy Hill Middle School |
| Junior Individual Documentary | First Place: The Dakota War, Jacob Osborne – Real Life Christian
Second Place: The Great Jacksonville Fire: Rebuilding from Ashes to a Prospering Metropolis, Nick Aquilina – Windy Hill Middle School |
| Junior Group Performance | First Place: Shadows of Hiroshima: Story of Love and Loss, Marionna Zhuchkan, Isabella Perez, Eva Vargas – Windy Hill Middle School
Second Place: A Modern Day Salem Story, Emilia Deangelo, Kathleen Antmann – Windy Hill Middle School |
| Junior Group Exhibit | First Place: Shielding Children’s Souls, Caroline Baker , Alexandra Maxwell – Eustis Middle School
Second Place: Road to Pardon-Groveland Four, Jensen Luke, Ciara Maple, Syriah Williams – Umatilla Middle School |
| Junior Group Website | First Place: Hillsborough Disaster: Finding Triumph in the Tragedy, Keira Woodhead, Mia Wood, Kristina Vela – Windy Hill Middle School
Second Place: Helen Keller, Ava Pope, Makenzie Williams – Real Life Christian |
| Junior Group Documentary | First Place: Battle of Stalingrad, Cole Climo , Jonas Wolfe – Eustis Middle School
Second Place: Hedy Lamar: Brains and Beauty, Lila Loman, Anabella Smith, Eimaan Virani – Windy Hill Middle School |
| Senior Overall | Christa McAuliffe and the Challenger Tragedy, Schuyler Thompson, Maclaine Thompson, Faith Eaton, John Braddock – Real Life Christian |
| Junior Overall | Shielding Children’s Souls, Caroline Baker, Alexandra Maxwell – Eustis Middle School |
We thank Havana 1959, Donut King and the Sons of the American Revolution for providing monetary and food donations for the event. We also thank the Lake County Historical Museum for hosting. The success of Lake County History Day would not be possible without the help and dedication of our community partners, volunteers, teachers, parents and students.
The district coordinators for Lake County History Day are Natalie Heitman and Noris Aguayo of Lake County Schools Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Department.
To learn more about National History Day in Lake County, FL, contact them at (352) 253-6874. For more information on National History Day, contact the national office at (301) 314-9739 or visit the National History Day official web site at www.nhd.org
