PRESS RELEASE: Secretary of State Cord Byrd Announces Winners of the 2023 Florida History Day State Contest

Tallahassee, Fla. –

Secretary of State Cord Byrd is pleased to announce the winners of the annual Florida History Day (FHD) contest administered by the Museum of Florida History. This year’s state contest was held at Tallahassee Community College on May 8 with the top student entries from 32 Florida counties participating.

“I want to congratulate this year’s Florida History Day winners, as well as all of the students who participated, and the teachers who supported them,” said Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd. “I had the opportunity to see some of the projects and I was impressed by the students’ thorough research, creativity, and hard work.”

At this year’s state competition 847 middle and high school students presented award-winning research in a variety of media including documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances, and websites. The top two winners of each category are invited to represent Florida at the National History Day (NHD) contest in June. Listed below are the students who received awards. A listing of statewide winners by award category is available on the Florida History Day website

 

STATEWIDE STUDENT WINNERS BY CATEGORY:

Junior Historical Paper

1st Place                     Vincent Minnillo

Frontiers in Jazz:  The Bebop Revolution

                                    Howard Middle School (Marion)

                                    Teacher: Pamela Earnest

 

2nd Place                    Lily Hagan

Animal Welfare Act:  Frontiers Are Being Extended Ensuring Animals’ Protection, Wellbeing and Health

                                    Charles S. Rushe Middle School (Pasco)

                                    Teacher: Cheryl Skaggs

                                                                       

3rd Place                     Andrew Fenton

Henry Ford’s Assembly Line Frontier That Started a Manufacturing Revolution

                                    Sarasota Middle School (Sarasota)

Teacher: Jennifer Jaso

 

Senior Historical Paper

1st Place                     Sarah Tanveer

Bangladesh’s Battle to Sovereignty:  The Frontier of Bengali Independence from the Liberation War of 1971

                                    Pensacola High School (Escambia)

                                    Teacher: James Ramey

 

2nd Place                    Lily Clarke

Standing Firm: How Wangari Maathai’s Ecofeminist Movement Challenged the Roots of Kenya’s Patriarchy

                                    Creekside High School (St. Johns)

                                    Teacher: Laura Bagby

                                                                       

3rd Place                     Sidney Allen

The Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania:  The First Successful Advocate for Women in Medicine

                                    Leon High School (Leon)

Teacher: Jeannine Meis

 

Junior Individual Documentary

1st Place                     Jacob Juan

No Bacteria, No Disease, No Problem, Saving Lives in Hospitals with Sterilization:  The Ideas of Joseph Lister

                                    Williams Middle Magnet School (Hillsborough)

                                    Teacher: Monica Dutzar

 

2nd Place                    Ritika Balwalli

Cochlear Implants:  An Idea Worth Hearing

                                    Sanford Middle School (Seminole)

                                    Teacher: Michael Travis

                                   

3rd Place                     Victoria Huber

Submerge:  Journey to Challenger Deep

                                    Lake Highland Preparatory School (Orange)

                                    Teacher: Emily Funston

 

Junior Group Documentary

1st Place                     Kyra Movva, Eesha Shah

                                    The Hello Girls:  America’s Forgotten Soldiers

                                    American Heritage Schools, Broward County Campus (Broward)

                                    Teacher: Krisynda Cicos

 

2nd Place                    Joshua Goodman, David Uy

                                    Louis Armstrong:  New Frontiers in Music

                                    Milwee Middle School (Seminole)

                                    Teacher: Jessica Day

 

3rd Place                     Rylie Armanious, Taliah Murtha, Frankie Parkes, Lillian Sequeira

                                    Words From Within:  Nellie Bly’s Frontiers in Advocacy

                                    Dunedin Highland Middle School (Pinellas)

                                    Teachers: Teresa Bergstrom, Tamara Bendely

 

 

Senior Individual Documentary

1st Place                     Allan An

A Frontier Within a Frontier:  Cultural Compromise in San Francisco’s Chinatown

                                    Frank W. Springstead High School (Hernando)

                                    Teacher: Suzanne Bates-Miranda

 

2nd Place                    Emily Dorman

A Sunny Day on Sesame Street

                                    Orlando Science Middle High Charter School (Orange)

                                    Teacher: Robert Kennedy

                                   

3rd Place                     Gavin DeYoung

Bountiful Bits and Bytes:  The Personal Computing Frontier and How It Changed Our Lives

                                    Cornerstone Charter Academy (Orange)

Teacher: Will Turner

 

 

Senior Group Documentary

1st Place                     Sabrina LaVopa, Priya Schramm

Extending a Hand and a Ladder:  The Life and Legacy of the Daughters

of Bilitis

Creekside High School (St. Johns)

Teacher: Laura Bagby

 

2nd Place                    Lauren Basara, Hailey Westfall

                                    Jazz:  A Frontier of Rhythm and Representation

                                    Seminole High School (Pinellas)

                                    Teacher: Josh Roberson

 

3rd Place                     Amelie Gamboa, Aanya Shah

Handwashing: The Beginning of Many Breakthroughs in Medical Sanitation

Seminole High School (Seminole)

Teacher: Adam Carpenter

 

 

Junior Individual Performance

1st Place                     Elsee Cribbs

The Frontier of Medicine:  How the Groundbreaking Theories, Discoveries, and Techniques Used During the Civil War Changed the World

                                    Bonita Springs Middle Center for the Arts (Lee)

                                    Teacher: Charndra Carias

 

2nd Place                    Abraham Jordan

The Bug That Beats the Heart

                                    Hobbs Middle School (Santa Rosa)

                                    Teacher: Stephanie Mainer

                                                                       

3rd Place                     Mary Dorgan

Advancing Anesthesia

                                    Okaloosa STEMM Academy (Okaloosa)

                                    Teachers: Andrew Adams, Rosemarie Morris

  

Junior Group Performance

1st Place                     Emma Bucholtz, Karina Lisenkova, Veda Penumuchu

                                    Victors and Frontiers in the Space Race

                                    Williams Middle Magnet School (Hillsborough)

                                    Teachers: Jon Droog, Monica Dutzar

 

2nd Place                    Teagan Carroll, Dylan Foster, Aditi Pai, Akash Pai

                                    The Canary’s Cry:  Frontiers Within Impoverished Life

                                    Dunedin Highland Middle School (Pinellas)

                                    Teachers: Tamara Bendely, Teresa Bergstrom

                                   

3rd Place                     Isaac Eden, Alyanna Loyola, Rheanne Madiam, Christopher Salyers

                                    Loving v. Virginia:  The Right to Marry

                                    Howard Middle School (Marion)

                                    Teacher: Pamela Earnest

 

Senior Individual Performance

1st Place                     Jaya Parsa

Hedy Lamarr:  A Frontier in Hollywood and Technology

                                    Fort Myers High School (Lee)

                                    Teacher: Debra Dailidonis

 

2nd Place                    Brendan Black

A Beautiful Day for a Neighbor:  Fred Rogers Changing the Nation Through Television

                                    Seminole High School (Pinellas)

                                    Teacher: Josh Roberson

                                                                       

3rd Place                     Ashley Zhang

Brise de Quatre:  How Four Women Broke the Barre for Diversity in the Ballet Industry

                                    Strawberry Crest High School (Hillsborough)

                                    Teacher: Jodie Peace

  

Senior Group Performance

1st Place                     Vivika Arora, Ayona Bagui

Mothers of Pop Culture:  The Women Who Changed the Industry and Beyond

                                    Strawberry Crest High School (Hillsborough)

                                    Teacher: Jodie Peace

 

2nd Place                    Durva Shingote, Vritti Udasi, Haswathi Varadharajan

                                    The Unseen Truth:  Solving Crime Through DNA Testing

                                    Strawberry Crest High School (Hillsborough)

                                    Teacher: Jodie Peace

                                   

3rd Place                     Jack Bradley, Carter Durgin, Aaron Montchal, Micah Pierce

                                    Mustard Gas:  From Chemical Warfare to Chemotherapy

                                    Seminole High School (Pinellas)

                                    Teachers: Kathryn Pierce, Josh Roberson

 

Junior Individual Exhibit

1st Place                     Ava LeCuyer

“Eppur si muove” – “And yet, it moves”

                                    Okaloosa STEMM Academy (Okaloosa)

                                    Teachers: Andrew Adams, Rosemarie Morris

 

2nd Place                    Maximus Callis

Kodak:  Capturing Memories

                                    American Heritage Schools, Broward County Campus (Broward)

                                    Teacher: Krisynda Cicos

                                   

3rd Place                     Yelyzaveta Kovalenko

Voices from the Holodomor

                                    Breakfast Point Academy (Bay)

                                    Teacher: Christine Sermons

 

Junior Group Exhibit

1st Place                     Brooklyn Bentley, Brenna Delezen

                                    The Big Get:  Frontier for Women in Broadcast Journalism

                                    Hobbs Middle School (Santa Rosa)

                                    Teacher: Stephanie Mainer

 

2nd Place                    Ella Berzins, Lucia Paz, Noah Roessler, Tyler Wilson

                                    Breaking the Boundary:  Buck O’Neil

                                    Sarasota Middle School (Sarasota)

                                    Teacher: Jennifer Jaso

 

3rd Place                     Rebekah Kuvshinov, Dilara Oun

                                    Israeli Pioneers:  Greening the Desert

                                    Joseph L. Carwise Middle School (Pinellas)

                                    Teacher: Sevasti Makryllos

 

Senior Individual Exhibit

1st Place                     Ana Jeong

Frontier in Korean History:  Sejong the Great

                                    Seminole High School (Seminole)

                                    Teacher: Adam Carpenter

 

2nd Place                    Sachin Desilva

HMS Dreadnought and the Technological Frontier at Sea

                                    Bay High School (Bay)

                                    Teacher: Steven Sain

                                                                       

3rd Place                     Simrit Kohli

Click, Release and Capture:  How Photography Influenced History with Just One Picture at a Time

                                    Strawberry Crest High School (Hillsborough)

                                    Teacher: Jodie Peace

 

Senior Group Exhibit

1st Place                     Emma Cheatham, Savannah Mejia

                                    Eleanor Roosevelt as First Lady:  More than a Hostess

                                    Leon High School (Leon)

                                    Teacher: Jeannine Meis

 

2nd Place                    Sarah Kirk, Cathleen Kivett Smith

                                    Placing a Pioneer on Her Frontier:  Establishing Emma Willard’s Legacy

                                    Ridgeview High School (Clay)

                                    Teacher: Cynthia Cheatwood

                                   

3rd Place                     Emilia Castro, Hannah Hoff, Deborah Martir

                                    Corsets to Camis

                                    Real Life Christian Academy (Lake)

                                    Teacher: Steve Lebron

 

Junior Individual Website

1st Place                     Evangeline Antaki

The Tampon Revolution:  How the Advancement of Tampons Influenced the World

                                    East Lake Middle School Academy of Engineering (Pinellas)

                                    Teacher: Oren Schlierer

 

2nd Place                    Miyoko Underwood Inouye

Home of Swing, Leader of Integration:  The Savoy Ballroom

                                    Cornerstone Learning Community (Leon)

                                    Teacher: Bryan Williams

                                                                       

3rd Place                     Lyla Guardado

Cesar Chavez:  A Humble Man Who Changed the World

                                    Chiles Middle School (Seminole)

                                    Teacher: Sarah Stone

 

Junior Group Website

1st Place                     Emile Totah, Musa Totah

All Aboard:  The Frontier of Railroads in America

                                    Dunedin Highland Middle School (Pinellas)

                                    Teachers: Tamara Bendely, Teresa Bergstrom

 

2nd Place                    Hasini Arshanapalli, Bhoomi Shah, Rhea Varma

Frontiers in Christianity:  The Spread of Ideas During the Protestant Reformation

                                    Williams Middle Magnet School (Hillsborough)

                                    Teacher: Monica Dutzar

                                   

3rd Place                     Nathan Agranovsky, Jaythrey Brijesh, Aneesh Gupta, Ashwin Meduri

                                    Benjamin O. Davis Jr.:  Crossing Frontiers Against the Odds

                                    Sanford Middle School (Seminole)

                                    Teacher: Michael Travis

 

Senior Individual Website

1st Place                     Jack Treick

John Sunday:  How a Pensacola Businessman Pioneered African American Representation in Business and Government

                                    East Hill Christian School (Escambia)

                                    Teacher: Phillip Emond

 

2nd Place                    Litsa Ortiz

Seeing Through Medical History:  X-Rays

                                    Fort Pierce Westwood Academy:  The West Prep Magnet (St. Lucie)

                                    Teacher: Tara Clark

                                                                       

3rd Place                     Velan Thanasekar

When Insulin Breathes Life:  The Story of the Revolutionary Discovery and Development of Insulin

                                    James Rickards High School (Leon)

                                    Teacher: Jennifer Sullivan

 

Senior Group Website

1st Place                     Diya Dipu Nair, Charles Oberlander, Tiffany Siev

The Great Smallpox Vaccine:  Surpassing Formidable Frontiers Through Immunization

                                    Largo High School (Pinellas)

                                    Teacher: David Koehler

 

2nd Place                    Carsyn Clanton, Reiss Goldman

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study:  Truths Behind Testing

                                    East Hill Christian School (Escambia)

                                    Teacher: Phillip Emond

                                   

3rd Place                     Erik Struga, Austin Vo, Alexandra Xilas, Katherine Zervoudakis

Frontiers in Sitting Down to Take a Stand Against Segregation:  The 1960 Greensboro Sit-in Movement

                                    Palm Harbor University High School (Pinellas)

Teacher: Jason Tsardoulias

 

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Sponsored by the Museum of Florida History, Florida History Day (FHD) is an annual, statewide activity that enhances the teaching and learning of history at middle and high school.  Florida joins 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and international schools in East and South Asia as an affiliate of National History Day® (NHD). NHD promotes history in the classroom by offering students the resources and support to do original research about people, ideas, and events of the past. The curriculum supports the project-based learning approach.