Office of the Connecticut State Historian
 
 
 
    Hundreds of student historians, their parents, teachers, friends, and a host of judges and other officials converged on the Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford yesterday for the state History Day Finals.
    The event was the culmination of a year’s effort on the part of the participants. Each contestant in the state finals was a winner in one of the six regional competitions held earlier this year. Entrants competed in six categories. The top two winners in each category are eligible to compete in the national History Day competition later this year in Washington.
    The theme of the competition this year was “Triumph and Tragedy.” As the picture pages for this year’s events show, the presentations and exhibits were extremely good, making judging a particularly challenging task. As a result, Connecticut is sending a very strong group of state winners to the national competition.
 
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PHOTO PAGES FROM HISTORY DAY 2007
 
Connecticut History Day 2007 Winners
 
Junior Papers
1st
Dash Jepsen
The Rwandan Genocide: How the World Fiddled While Rwanda Burned
Rippowam Middle School, Stamford
 
2nd
Jacob Conway
Hiroshima: Triumph or Tragedy
Dodd Middle School, Cheshire
 
3rd
Jacqueline Abbott
Love Canal: Toxic Tragedy Leads to Environmental Triumph
Turn of River Middle School, Stamford
 
Senior Papers
1st    
Alexander Crowe    
The Death and Trials of Michael Donald
AITE, Stamford
 
2nd
Heidi Skalmeras
Louisa May Alcott Triumphs
Manchester High School, Manchester
 
3rd
Dayne Rugh
The Battle of Groton Heights
Fitch Senior High School, Groton
 
Junior Individual Exhibits
1st
Rachael Orbe
Ella Grasso: At the Peak of Politics
Tyl Middle School, Oakdale
 
2nd
Chet Joseph Frank Jambora
Galileo Galilei: The Triumph of Scientific Discoveries and a Time of Personal Tragedy
St. Edward School, Stafford
 
3rd
Dalton Zbierski
The U.S.S. Indianapolis: A Naval Tragedy Amid U.S. Triumph
St. Edward School, Stafford
 
Junior Group Exhibits
1st
Annie Cohen, Molly Stanton
Their One Way Ticket: Escaping Nazi Europe on the Kindertransport
Turn of River Middle School, Stamford
 
2nd
Madison O'Brien, Paige Nee
The Hartford Circus Fire; The Last Show
Timothy Edwards Middle School, South Windsor
 
3rd
Christopher Raymond, Payton Henry
Iwo Jima: Triumph or Tragedy?
Hall Memorial School, Willington
 
Senior Individual Exhibits
1st
Carolyn Boudreau
Triumph and Tragedy: The Polio Vaccine and the Hidden Virus in It
Windsor High School, Windsor
 
2nd
Krisela Karaja
Boss Tweed and the Tweed Ring Scandal: The Triumph and Tragedy of Political Corruption in the Gilded Age
Windsor High School, Windsor
 
3rd
Janet Sutherland
Kent State Shootings
Fitch Senior High School, Groton
 
Senior Group Exhibits
1st
Casey Zammitti, Jordan Hassett, Eric Anderson
"Sweet Enola Gay!" The Tragedy at Hiroshima
RHAM High School, Hebron
 
2nd
Christopher Testa, Christina Zaleta
On the Fast Track: Triumph and Tragedy on the Rails
East Hartford High School, East Hartford
 
3rd
Nick Carbone, Madhushree Gnanasambandan
Pequot: A People Fighting for Justice
E.O. Smith High School, Storrs
 
Junior Individual Performances
1st
Danielle Fuller
Triumph of the Mother Tongue: Louise Bennet-Coverly Illuminates Patois through Poetry
Sedgwick Middle School, West Hartford
 
2nd
Kathleen Clark
Struggle for a Homeland: The Zionist Movement
Rippowam Middle School, Stamford
 
3rd
Keyosha Freeman
Harriet Tubman: The Triumph of the Underground Railroad
Turn of River Middle School, Stamford
 
Junior Group Performances
1st
Frina Lin, Lauren Chadwick, Emma Hoyle
The American School for the Deaf
Mansfield Middle School, Storrs
 
2nd
Katherine Breen, Zoe Kennedy, Emily Lorenti, Erica Blumrosen
The Lowell Mill Girls: The Fight Against Economic Injustice
Dolan Middle School, Stamford
 
3rd
Gloria Creamer, Amy Bleasdale
The Triumphs and Tragedies of Mental Illness in America
Tyl Middle School, Oakdale
 
Senior Individual Performances
1st
David Botticello
The Clash of the Ironclads
Manchester High School, Manchester
 
2nd
Olga Ortiz
A Change of Heart: The Triumph and Tragedy of Women's Suffrage
Metropolitan Business Academy, New Haven
 
3rd
Courtney Stewart
Fighting for Freedom: Blacks in WWII
Bloomfield High School, Bloomfield
 
Senior Group Performances
1st
Jessica McSweeney, Rebecca Stuart
Out of the Ashes: The Triangle Fire and the Conscience of Industrial Reform
RHAM High School, Hebron
 
2nd
Kia Volkonen, Rebecca Johnson
Madness: A History of Mental Asylums
Westhill High School, Stamford
 
3rd
Sarah Keating, Chris Keating
Kurt Gerstein, the SS Undercover Hero
Fitch Senior High School, Groton
 
Junior Individual Documentaries
1st
Althea Bock-Hughes
Louis Armstrong: Triumph and Tragedy and All That Jazz
Hall Memorial School, Willington
 
2nd
Anika Advani
Apollo 13: An Incredible Journey in Space, A Race Against Time
Turn of River Middle School, Stamford
 
3rd
Sumaali Chheda
Ella Grasso: From the First Female Governor to the Victim of a Tragic Death
Mansfield Middle School, Storrs
 
Junior Group Documentaries
1st
Mackenzie Murphy, Mary O'Neil, Lisa Pinatti
Out of the Ashes: The Legacy of the Triangle Factory Fire
Hall Memorial School, Willington
 
2nd
Sarah Perkins, Kelsey Dutta
Harlem Renaissance: A Triumph of Black Expression and Pride over the Tragedy of Oppression
Mansfield Middle School, Storrs
 
3rd
Kevin O'Donnell, Bill Kehoe
"My God, What Have We Done?" The Story of the First Atomic Bomb
East Windsor Middle School, Broad Brook
 
Senior Individual Documentaries
1st
Jessica Daigneault
Starving for Rights: The 1981 Maze Prison Hunger Strikes
Fitch Senior High School, Groton
 
2nd
Yazmine Avila
Against All Odds (Cancer Research)
Metropolitan Business Academy, New Haven
 
3rd
Tim Brantly
The Devils of Racism
Metropolitan Business Academy, New Haven
 
Senior Group Documentaries
1st
Claire Lyons, Sean Madsen, Tucker Blandford
From Tragedy to New Heights: The Apollo Program
Westhill High School, Stamford
 
2nd
Patrick Doolittle, Andrew Doolittle
Grateful Grenadian's Road to Independence
RHAM High School, Hebron
 
3rd
Chelsea Haddad, Cristobal Ortega, Victoria Chen
A Tragic and Triumphant Tale; Mozart
E.O. Smith High School, Storrs
 
 
Saturday, April 28, 2007