PT young historians in national contest
Two Peters Township students will represent the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at the U.S. competition of National History Day, slated for June 15-19 at the University of Maryland in College Park. Juniors Nick Larimer and Ryan Williams earned this distinction by taking first place at the “National History Day in Pennsylvania” contest held at Millersville University in May. They were among nine Peters Township students who represented Western Pennsylvania at the state contest, an event that drew more than 800 students in grades 6-12.
Nick and Ryan’s Senior Group Documentary entry was entitled RES OMNIUM COMMUNES: When is There Not a Right of Sovereignty? This work traced the situations in which the countries of the world have come together in agreement that no country can claim sovereignty.
Two other projects made the state run-offs, placing them in the top six projects in their category. Eighth-graders Mekhela Santebennur and Shruthi Shivkumar placed fifth in Junior Group Performance with their entry Women’s Rights: Striving to Achieve Equality, and junior Alex Franco placed sixth in Senior Division Individual Performance with his entry American Trusts: The Presidents, The Tycoons and the Muckraker.
All entries adhered to the 2014 theme of “Rights and Responsibilities in History.”
Larimer and Williams will now join over 3,500 students expected to participate in the U.S. competition of National History Day, encompassing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, China, Korea, South Asia and the Department of Defense Schools worldwide.
Sponsor Josh Elders, an eighth grade teacher at Peters Township Middle School, was named the Patricia M. Behring Teacher of the Year for Pennsylvania in the Junior Division. The award is given for outstanding achievement in education. Elders is now in the running for the Patricia M. Behring National Teacher of the Year to be presented at the National Competition.