Seven Carmel High School students earn recognition at National History Day contest

The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) has announced that several Indiana students received special awards and honors at the National Contest for the National History Day (NHD) program held June 9 to 13 at University of Maryland, College Park.

Locally several Hamilton County students earned recognition.

Josiah Hoffeditz of Carmel High School won 10th place in the Senior Individual Exhibit for “Invention of the Piano: A Key to Music.”

The 2024 National Contest hosted a total of 2,849 students across the United States and territories, and 51 students participated from Indiana. The students completed projects in one of five categories – documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website – and then competed in a series of contests beginning at the local level. Less than 1 percent of projects advance to the National Contest.

Hamilton County had five projects receive honorable mentions, a recognition for projects that did not advance to finals but did place in the top 20 in the nation, including:

• Grace Nie of Carmel High School, Senior Individual Performance for “The POP Heard ‘Round the World: How Popcorn Was A Turning Point In Movie Theater History And American Society”
• Valerie Fu of Carmel High School, Senior Individual Website for “The Spindletop Oil Discovery: Fueling America’s Petroleum Revolution”
• Katie Zhao and Stephanie Tan of Carmel High School, Senior Group Website for “Mokusatsu: The Deadliest Mistake.” They also received recognition for Outstanding Affiliate Entry in the Senior Division.

In addition, “Bromine Therapy: From Battlefield Hospitals to the Public” by Emma An and Olivia Lim of Carmel High School will be the Exhibit Showcase at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

“Indiana had an amazing year at the NHD National Contest,” said Lexi Gribble, Manager of Education and National History Day in Indiana (NHDI) at IHS. “We are so proud of our students who worked so hard and brought their best to this year’s contest. It was an honor to celebrate our student’s work at the awards ceremony, and see their work recognized on this national scale. Their achievements today shows the research ability and creativity of Indiana students. Congratulations!”

NHDI is a yearlong program dedicated to enhancing history education in Indiana’s schools. Students in grades 4 through 12 explore a historical subject that fits under the annual theme. This year’s theme was “Turning Points in History,” inviting students to research and select turning points in U.S. history that interest them the most.

NHDI is presented by Indiana Constructors, Inc., with support from Rooker Family Foundation and Vigran Family Foundation and made possible through a grant from Indiana Humanities in cooperation with the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For more information, visit indianahistory.org/historyday.