Winners Crowned at 29th Annual Omaha District History Day
The Durham Museum hosted the 29th annual Omaha District History Day Competition on February 26-27, 2019. Over 425 students in grades six through 12 competed in various categories, including exhibits, documentaries, performances, historical papers and websites. The theme for the 2019 competition was Triumph and Tragedy in History.
Entries placing first, second, third and fourth in their categories are eligible to compete at the state level contest at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska on Saturday April 6, 2019. First and second placed winners at the state level will have the opportunity to compete at the Kenneth E. Berhing National Contest at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland from June 9-13, 2019.
The Durham Museum is pleased to announce the 2019 winners (Student/Place, School, Topic and Teacher):
Senior Individual Website
4th Place- Catherine Alvarez
Marian High School
The Children’s March
Teachers: David Anderson, Christopher Dziadus, and Jillian Roger
3rd Place- Grace Belter
Ralston High School
O Where the Buffalo Roam: The Extermination of the American Bison
Teacher: Shane Adams
2nd Place- Grace Clark
Marian High School
Kent State Massacre: Humanizing the Vietnam War Protest Movement
Teachers: David Anderson, Christopher Dziadus, and Jillian Roger
1st Place- Tyler Richardson
Ralston High School
“I pledge to use my young life to defend Tiananmen”: The Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989
Teacher: Shane Adams
Senior Group Website
4th Place- Abby Russell and Samantha Jaeke
Marian High School
Salem Witch Trials
Teachers: David Anderson, Christopher Dziadus, and Jillian Roger
3rd Place- Peyton Schumacher and Carmella Bazis
Marian High School
The Underground Railroad
Teachers: David Anderson, Christopher Dziadus, and Jillian Roger
2nd Place- Isabelle Hansen and Rylee Gregg
Marian High School
Ellis Island: An Immigrant’s Experience
Teachers: David Anderson, Christopher Dziadus, and Jillian Roger
1st Place- Eli Smith, Dylan Lewis, and Kylee Matousek
Ralston High School
Bending History: Robert F. Kennedy
Teacher: Shane Adams
Senior Individual Performance
2nd Place- Anna Youell
Mercy High School
Christianity’s Wars
Teacher: Brooks Humphreys
1st Place- Naomi Delkamiller
Marian High School
Triumph to Tragedy: The Earhart Story
Teachers: David Anderson, Christopher Dziadus, and Jillian Roger
Senior Group Performance
2nd Place- Jenna Esparrago and Amal Imran
Marian High School
America & Rome
Teachers: David Anderson, Christopher Dziadus, and Jillian Roger
1st Place- Callaghan Cavanaugh and Elaina Carelton
Marian High School
Arthur Miller’s Stand: The Tragedy of the Red Scare and McCarthyism and the Triumph of Victims that Stood up to It
Teachers: David Anderson, Christopher Dziadus, and Jillian Roger
Senior Paper
4th Place- Katie Liske
Marian High School
1968: A Year of Triumphs and Tragedies
Teachers: David Anderson, Christopher Dziadus, and Jillian Roger
3rd Place- Lea Bushey
Marian High School
The Tragic Loss of Life, Uncertainty, and Fear Surrounding the Spanish Flu of 1918
Teachers: David Anderson, Christopher Dziadus, and Jillian Roger
2nd Place- Katherine McGill
Marian High School
The Little Rock Nine: A Triumph Resilience in the Face of Segregation
Teachers: David Anderson, Christopher Dziadus, and Jillian Roger
1st Place- Ashley Tran
Marian High School
The Vietnam War: The Tragedy of the Children Left Behind
Teachers: David Anderson, Christopher Dziadus, and Jillian Roger
Senior Individual Documentary
4th Place- Lauren Sitzman
Omaha North Magnet High School
Save the Niobrara River Association: A Triumph for Grassroots Activism
Teacher: Colleen Durante
3rd Place- Bernardette Kowel
Marian High School
Women’s Fight for the Right to Vote
Teachers: David Anderson, Christopher Dziadus, and Jillian Roger
2nd Place- Liam Wiig
Omaha North Magnet High School
Percy Lavon Julian
Teacher: Colleen Durante
1st Place- Grace Walsh
Marian High School
The History of Mental Health Treatment in America
Teachers: David Anderson, Christopher Dziadus, and Jillian Roger
Senior Group Documentary
4th Place- Caitlyn Main and Cord Benesch
Ralston High School
John Lennon: Living on Borrowed Time
Teacher: Shane Adams
3rd Place- Cree Howard, Cecilia Martinez, and Alexis Hernandez
Mercy High School
Refugee Immigration
Teacher: Brooks Humphreys
2nd Place- Abigail O’Connor, Sabrina DeGeorge, Caici Barnhart, and Carina Muse
Mercy High School
Salem Witch Trials
Teacher: Brooks Humphreys
1st Place- Sydnee Baysa and Aevari Kotil
Marian High School
The Life of Elvis
Teachers: David Anderson, Christopher Dziadus, and Jillian Roger
Senior Individual Exhibit
4th Place- Kyra Knudsen
Marian High School
The Triumph and Tragedy of “The King of Rock and Roll”
Teachers: David Anderson, Christopher Dziadus, and Jillian Roger
3rd Place- Erin Epp
Mercy High School
Tuskegee Institute Syphilis Experiment
Teacher: Brooks Humphreys
2nd Place- Delaney Foley
Marian High School
The Tragic Biological War Crimes within the Walls of Unit 731
Teachers: David Anderson, Christopher Dziadus, and Jillian Roger
1st Place- Carolyn Hire
Mercy High School
The Battle of Alesia
Teacher: Brooks Humphreys
Senior Group Exhibit
4th Place- Charlotte Kimsey and Baylin Davis
Mercy High School
Japanese Brutality against the Chinese in WWII
Teacher: Brooks Humphreys
3rd Place- Clare Euteneuer and Elizabeth Walsh
Mercy High School
Smallpox Vaccination
Teacher: Brooks Humphreys
2nd Place- Carolyn Klein and Carlee Lee
Mercy High School
The Great Fire of London
Teacher: Brooks Humphreys
1st Place- Bridget Koley and Megan Streff
Mercy High School
The Price of Being Poor in Victorian England
Teacher: Brooks Humphreys
Junior Individual Website
4th Place- Sarah Van Ornum
Bellevue Mission Middle School
The Invention of the Airplane
Teacher: Brent Myers
3rd Place- Sasha Gates
Lewis and Clark Middle School
Loving vs. Virginia
Teachers: Melissa Shrago and Paula Sinnett
2nd Place- Naala Sorrell
Lewis and Clark Middle School
The Development of Concentration Camps
Teachers: Melissa Shrago and Paula Sinnett
1st Place- Andy Wu
La Vista Middle School
Marie Curie
Teachers: Margaret Alexander, Lindsey Goodman, Melissa Herzberg, and Ray Wood
Junior Group Website
4th Place- Shelby Stephens and Cassidy Culjat
Ralston Middle School
Percy Fawcett and the Lost City of Z
Teachers: Mindy Podraza and Lynn Behounek
3rd Place- Aiden Harvey and Ethan Rand
Lewis and Clark Middle School
Spanish Flu
Teachers: Melissa Shrago and Paula Sinnett
2nd Place- Kimberly Borgstahl and Mia Griffith
Lewis and Clark Middle School
Tracking a Killer Disease: How the U.S. Addressed Polio’s Curse
Teachers: Melissa Shrago and Paula Sinnett
1st Place- Ella L. Johnson and Andrew Creek
Fire in the Sky: A Change to Airship Travel
Ralston Middle School
Teachers: Mindy Podraza and Lynn Behounek
Junior Individual Performance
4th Place- Kaitlin Musch
Platteview Central Jr. High School
Deaf-Blind Salvation
Teacher: Andrew Soneson
3rd Place- Maria Nero
Lewis and Clark Middle School
Selena Quintanilla
Teachers: Melissa Shrago and Paula Sinnett
2nd Place- Rachel Wu
Elkhorn Ridge Middle School
Triumph and Tragedy: The Life of Dmitri Shostakovich
Teacher: Debbie Miller
1st Place- Emilia Dona-Munoz
Lewis and Clark Middle School
The Sinking of the MV Wilhelm Gustloff
Teachers: Melissa Shrago and Paula Sinnett
Junior Group Performance
4th Place- Zoey Foote, Havala DeLeon, Avery Black, Addy Nunley, and Grace O’Neill
Elkhorn Ridge Middle School
Divided by Night
Teacher: Debbie Miller
3rd Place- Ruby Titus and Sarah Spomer
Lewis and Clark Middle School
The Woman’s Suffrage Movement with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony
Teachers: Melissa Shrago and Paula Sinnett
2nd Place- Aanya Mishra and Brenna Whitten
Elkhorn Valley View Middle School
Nebraska Bomber Plant: The Triumph that Resulted from the World’s Greatest Tragedy
Teacher: Leigh Geis
1st Place- Carol Van Lancker, Bethany Madden, and Olivia Van Lancker
Ralston Middle School
The Glowing Girls: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Radium Women
Teachers: Mindy Podraza and Lynn Behounek
Junior Paper
4th Place- Ying Haase
Platteview Central Jr. High School
Never Forgotten: Finding, Identifying, and Bringing Home our Fallen Soldiers from the Vietnam War
Teacher: Andrew Soneson
3rd Place- Kaitlyn Moore
Bellevue Mission Middle School
The Black Death
Teacher: Brent Myers
2nd Place- Isabella Acosta
Bellevue Mission Middle School
Holocaust- Through the Victims’ Eyes
Teacher: Brent Myers
1st Place- Hillary Dabla
Ralston Middle School
The Unending Journey towards Voter Equality in America
Teachers: Mindy Podraza and Lynn Behounek
Junior Individual Documentary
4th Place- Frank Luceri
Lewis and Clark Middle School
Apollo 13
Teachers: Melissa Shrago and Paula Sinnett
3rd Place- Halsey Hooper
Lewis and Clark Middle School
AIDS Epidemic
Teachers: Melissa Shrago and Paula Sinnett
2nd Place- Katie Klem
Lewis and Clark Middle School
Agent Orange
Teachers: Melissa Shrago and Paula Sinnett
1st Place- Bella McAtee
Platteview Central Jr. High School
The Man behind Mickey
Teacher: Andrew Soneson
Junior Group Documentary
4th Place- Hudson Carrico and Sam Ruppert
La Vista Middle School
The Apollo Missions: A Triumph and Tragedy
Teachers: Margaret Alexander, Lindsey Goodman, Melissa Herzberg, and Ray Wood
3rd Place- Weston Siebler and Paul Wood
Westside Middle School
Female Spies of World War Two
Teachers: Shelby Sedlacek and Tina Christiansen
2nd Place- Caroline Swartz and Johnna Pick
St. Cecilia’s Catholic Grade School
Title IX and Becky Hammon
Teacher: Becky Petersen
1st Place- Maria Hernandez and Kate Dowd
St. Margaret Mary School
Father Flanagan: A Revolution in Care
Teacher: Gregory Mikuls
Junior Individual Exhibit
4th Place- Lucy Doyle
Tragedy at the Triangle
St. Robert Bellarmine School
Teacher: Adam Benson
3rd Place- Bobby Winton
Lewis and Clark Middle School
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Teachers: Melissa Shrago and Paula Sinnett
2nd Place- Ella Slater
Lewis and Clark Middle School
Oskar Schindler
Teachers: Melissa Shrago and Paula Sinnett
1st Place- Lauren Buban
Westside Middle School
Anne Frank
Teachers: Shelby Sedlacek and Tina Christiansen
Junior Group Exhibit
4th Place- Ella Easton and Delaney Reiss
Lewis and Clark Middle School
Spanish Flu
Teacher: Melissa Shrago and Paula Sinnett
3rd Place- Maya Dooley and Jaclyn Johnson
Ralston Middle School
The Night Witches
Teachers: Mindy Podraza and Lynn Behounek
2nd Place- Ben Nodes and Will Parker
Lewis and Clark Middle School
D-Day
Teachers: Melissa Shrago and Paula Sinnett
1st Place- Sophia Sims and Olivia Meyer
Westside Middle School
Anne Frank: Conquering Evil through the Written Word
Teachers: Shelby Sedlacek and Tina Christiansen
