Westminster announces winners from National History Day competition

More than 100 students in grades 6-12 from several public and private schools in Lawrence, Mercer, Beaver, Butler and Cambria counties competed in National History Day at Westminster College on Thursday, March 9.  

Students from the following districts and schools participated: Blackhawk, Grove City, Neshannock Township, Northern Cambria, Sharpsville, Holy Sepulcher Catholic School in Butler and Saint Kilian Parish School in Cranberry Township.

Students interpreted this year’s theme, “Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas,” by competing in categories including historical papers, documentaries, exhibits, performances, and websites.
This year’s winners are:

Senior Paper
First Place: “The Frontier of Cell Biology” by Grace Dorfi of Sharpsville Area High School

Second Place: “Revolutionizing Medicine: Female Pioneers Who Changed Medicine As We Know It” by Alexandra Marchetto of Sharpsville Area High School

Third Place: “The Ugly Truth: Frontiers Throughout the Brazilian Dictatorship” by Maria Alvim of Sharpsville Area High School

Fourth Place: “The Evolution of U.S. Pharmacy in the 19th Century” by Lauren Aiello of Sharpsville Area High School

Senior Individual Documentary
First Place: “Rave: Ecstasy and the Internet” by Nolan Cowan of Grove City Senior High School

Senior Group Documentary
First Place: “Technology in the Space Race” by Mark Daugherty, Grayson Feury, Jackson Latta and Matthew Sopko of Neshannock High School

Second Place: “Frontier of Psychedelics in Modern Medicine” by Willow Kendziorski and Lily Lawson of Grove City Senior High School

Senior Individual Exhibit
First Place: “Master of Music: Tchaikovsky” by Lena Grossman of Neshannock High School

Second Place: “Ai Khanoum: Alexander’s Lost Hellenistic Frontier City” by Phoebe Graham of Grove City Senior High School

Third Place: “Vaccine Development” by Olivia Hrubochak of Northern Cambria High School

Senior Group Exhibit
First Place: “Frontiers in Fashion: Coco Chanel, a Frontier In Modern Day Fashion” by Aleena Frengel and Aubrie Ragone of Neshannock High School

Second Place: “Frontiers in Jacques Cousteau’s Ocean Technology Advancements” by Katherine Daugherty and Ava Koski of Neshannock High School

Third Place: “Racial Diversity in Ballet” by Danielle Hendrick and Caden McConnell of Northern Cambria High School

Fourth Place: “The Era That Changed the World: How the Renaissance Shaped the World As We Know It Today” by Carmella Bautti, Katelyn Cameron and Gionna Moore of Neshannock High School

Senior Group Performance
First Place: “The Frontiers of Women’s Rights: How Women Changed the World” by Gabby Quinn, Aadyson Sumner, Sophia Tinstman and Emma Tilt of Neshannock High School

Senior Individual Website
First Place: “The Creation of the Internet” by Ethan Jacobs of Northern Cambria High School

Junior Individual Documentary
First Place: “America’s First Mystery: The Lost Colony of Roanoke” by Andrew Spalvieri of Saint Kilian Parish School

Second Place: “Battle of the Bulge” by Joseph Pietropaolo of Saint Kilian Parish School

Third Place: “Chernobyl” by Tyler Kirsten of Saint Kilian Parish School

Junior Group Documentary
First Place: “The Beatles” by Chloe Cole, Elle Degnan, and Isabella Montinola of Saint Kilian Parish School

Second Place: “The Demon Core: A Chilling Tale” by Sam Funk, Sean Gabriel, Judah Hartle and Alex Park of Holy Sepulcher Catholic School

Junior Individual Exhibit
First Place: “The Impact of the Irish Famine” by Sorcha O’Sullivan of Saint Kilian Parish School

Second Place: “Elizabeth Blackwell: The First Female Physician” by Alexandria Proie of Saint Kilian Parish School

Third Place: “Anesthesia: The Frontier that Changed Surgery” by Alegria Sisto of Saint Kilian Parish School

Fourth Place: “National Women’s Rights Convention: Suffrage” by Madelyn Stillwagon of Holy Sepulcher Catholic School

Junior Group Exhibit
First Place: “Technological WW1 Advancements” by Sydney Cmiel and Ashley Snyder of Saint Kilian Parish School

Second Place: “Rights Through NASA” by Ellia Hart, Kate Ostrom, and Ella Richardson of Highland Middle School

Third Place: “Chemotherapy Conquering Cancer” by Anna Jones, Emelia Kapetanos and Addison Thiel of Saint Kilian Parish School

Fourth Place: “The Woman Who Changed Aviation” by Alina Dudkowski and Emma Parnell of Saint Kilian Parish School

Junior Individual Performance
First Place: “Apple: The Technological Super Power” by Clint Elliott of Saint Kilian Parish School

Junior Group Performance
Third Place: “New Frontier: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” by Nicholas Bernauer, Emma Coddington, Aithan Holiday, Ellie Schoeffel and Sophia Territola of Highland Middle School

Junior Individual Website
First Place: “Navajo Code Talkers and Their Contributions to WWII” by Spencer Marsico of Holy Sepulcher Catholic School

Second Place: “The Empire State Building” by Nathan David of Saint Kilian Parish School

Third Place: “The History of Transplantation” by Martin Stickney of Holy Sepulcher Catholic School

Fourth Place: “Title IX” by Riley Marsico of Holy Sepulcher Catholic School

Junior Group Website
First Place: “The Civil Rights Act of 1964” by AJ Montes and John Shifter of Holy Sepulcher Catholic School

Second Place: “D-Day” by Christopher Correll, Talon Owen and Gabriel Wohar of Saint Kilian Parish School

The top four entries in each category are eligible to compete at the National History Day in Pennsylvania contest on April 22 and 23 at the University of Scranton.

Westminster students, faculty and staff served as judges.

Student judges included:
•    Taiten Beachy ’26, a first-year history and sports management double major from Moon Township, Pa.
•    Olivia Bonacci ’26, a first-year history major from Coraopolis, Pa.
•    Alaina Goldstein ’26, a first-year history major from Warren, Ohio
•    Gwendolyn Gray ’24, a junior history major from Louisville, Ky.
•    Karl Love ’25, a sophomore Spanish major from Pittsburgh
•    Christopher Luzader ’25, a sophomore history major from Pittsburgh
•    Elena Macdonald ’26, a first-year music and music performance-vocal double major from Red Bank, N.J.
•    Charles Moller ’25, a sophomore chemistry and materials science double major from Viola, Del.
•    Ramont Scott ’26, a first-year broadcasting and sports communication major from Frederick, Md.
•    Zachery Tomlinson ’24, a junior history major from Lancaster, Pa.

Faculty and staff judges included:

Dr. Michael Aleprete, professor of political science; Patrick Bussiere, director of residence life; Dr. Jamie Chapman, associate professor of sociology; Dr. Robert Craven ’13, assistant professor of English; Dr. Timothy Grieve-Carlson, assistant professor of religion and interfaith studies; Patricia Hammer ’08, retired academic records processor; Jamie Kohler, director of McGill Library and associate professor; Dr. Patrick Krantz, associate professor of environmental science and director of the Outdoor Laboratory; Candace Okello ’11, associate dean of student affairs; Jessica Shelenberger, director of the Academic Success Center; Dr. Shannon Smithey, professor of political science and First-Year Program coordinator; Dr. Gina Vance, vice president for student affairs and dean of students; and Bradley Weaver, broadcasting and sports communications lecturer.

NHD is a non-profit education organization based in College Park, Md. The largest NHD program is the National History Day Contest that encourages more than half a million students around the world to conduct historical research on a topic of their choice. Students enter these projects at the local and affiliate levels, with top students advancing to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park.

For more information about the event, contact coordinator Dr. Patricia G. Clark, associate professor of history, at clarkpg@westminster.edu or 724-946-7248.

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