Craig Irish

MARYLAND – June 12, 2025 -- Ten California entries receive top honors at the 51st Annual National History Day Contest held at the University of Maryland College Park Campus in the Washington, D.C. area June 8-12.  In addition, six California entries were named finalists, six received honorable mention, two entries were named Outstanding In State, and three entries were selected for a special award.

More than 2,800 students from 50 states and 3 international affiliates participated in the contest. $150,000 in scholarships are awarded at the awards ceremony, and approximately 100 students took home cash prizes between $250 and $5,000 for superior work in a particular category of judging.

National Contest - Team California Results

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS - MEDALISTS
The following entries were recognized as overall 1^st - 3^rd place winners of NHD.

1^st Place – Junior Individual Exhibit: Alekha Goldberg
Peak to Peak Mountain Charter School, Kern County. Teacher – Elaine Salmon
Title: Returning Blue Lake: The Confluence of Rights, Responsibilities & Social Justice

1^st Place – Junior Group Website: Shawn Castrapel & Max Castrapel
Sierra Vista Middle School. Orange County. Teachers – Lianne Linck & Jonathan Millers
Title: Rights and Responsibilities: The Hetch Hetchy Dam and Its Environmental Impact

1^st Place – Senior Individual Exhibit: Samantha Bailey
Orange County School of the Arts. Orange County. Teacher – Lana Sawalha
Title: Forbidden to Fundamental: Perez v. Sharp's Defense of Marriage Rights and Call for Constitutional Responsibility

1^st Place – Senior Historical Paper: Ryka Chopra
Mission San Jose High School, Alameda County. Teacher – Keith Kottenback
Title: Daughters of the Pyre: Sati Abolition - Rights, Responsibilities, and a Reluctant Reform in Colonial India

2^nd Place – Junior Group Exhibit: Manting Wang, Christy Lieu, Katharine Wu, & Vivi Zhong
Temple (Roger W.) Intermediate School, Los Angeles County.  Teacher – Chuck Diep & Minh Anderson
Title: Denied Rights, Embraced Responsibility: The Displacement and Rebuilding of LA's Chinatown

2^nd Place – Junior Historical Paper: Jason Rong
The Nueva School, San Mateo County. Teachers – Cynthia Kosut
Title: The Attica Prison Uprising and Its Legacy: Rights and Responsibilities in the American Prison System

2^nd Place – Senior Group Website: Mark Blair, Krishna Kuruvadi, Eric Lillie
Francis Parker School, San Diego County. Teacher(s) – Karishma Sinnott, Joseph Kurz, Emma Neil, Mary Ong-Dean, Kate Klemchuk, & Rob Campbell
Title: From Sovereignty to Exile: The Forgone Rights of the Cherokee and the Abandoned Responsibilities of the U.S. Government

3^rd Place – Junior Group Website: Christine Jeon, Joseph Featherstone
Sierra Vista Middle School. Orange County. Teachers – Lianne Linck & Jonathan Millers
Title: The Thalidomide Tragedy: Rights of Consumers’ Healthcare and Responsibilities of the Manufacturer

3^rd Place – Senior Individual Documentary: William Gao
Canyon Crest Academy, San Diego County. Teacher – Nicole Baker
Title: The Fall and Rise of Mono Lake: The Public Trust Doctrine’s Water Revolution

3^rd Place – Senior Individual Exhibit: Emily Yi
Orange County School of the Arts, Orange County. Teacher – Lana Sawalha
Title: Legacy of Betrayal and Medical Immorality: The Rights, Responsibilities, and Redemption of Tuskegee

CONTEST FINALIST
The following entries were 1^st in preliminary judging heats and advanced to final round judging.

5^th Place – Junior Group Documentary: Poiema Bernier, Rebekah Miller, Lucas Menendez, & Enoch Wu
Acaciawood Preparatory Academy, Orange County. Teachers – Karen Kayekjian, Carolin Menendez, & Jessica Bernier
Title: The Right to Stay: Doss v Bernal Dismantling Housing Segregation 

5^th Place – Junior Individual Performance: Aria Yatavelli
Santiago Hills Elementary School. Orange County. Teacher – Katie Gray
Title: Phone Booths to Smartphones: Rights and Responsibilities from Katz to the Digital Age

5^th Place – Senior Group Performance: Piper Allen, Mason Pitcher, Kyle Mrkaich, Selena Wall, & Daniel Green
Edison High School, Fresno County. Teacher – Gary Mrkaich
Title: Today Is My Death Day

5^th Place – Senior Individual Website: Anna Cao
Northwood High School, Orange County. Teacher – Deanna Myers
Title: The Nuremberg Code: Shaping Human Rights and Responsibilities in Medical Research

8^th Place – Senior Individual Documentary: Kayla Ling
The Nueva School, San Mateo County. Teachers – Nellie Ling & Cynthia Kosut
Title: The Most Loyal "Traitors:" How the Nisei Soldiers of the 100th Infantry Battalion & 442nd RCT Fought to Protect America and to Free Their Families at Home

9^th Place – Junior Group Exhibit: Emily Huynh & Ellie Huynh
Fruitvale Junior High School, Kern County. Teachers – Zachary Kolb
Title: The HOPE Act's Promise: Rights and Responsibilities

HONORABLE MENTION
Received 2^nd place in preliminary judging room.

Honorable Mention – Junior Individual Documentary: Emery Penaloza
Norris Middle School, Kern County. Teacher – Lora Penaloza
Title: Injustice Interned: Sacrificing Civil Rights for National Security

Honorable Mention – Junior Group Performance: Julie Montiel, Viviann Rodriguez, Isaac Enriquez Cervantes, Allison Gonzalez, & Vanessa Beltran
Ray Wiltsey Middle School, San Bernardino County. Teachers – Angela Stephens, Kandyce Valverde, Vanessa Roman, & Amanda Populus
Title: Tinker vs Des Moines: How the Ants Marched Towards Freedom of Speech

Honorable Mention – Junior Individual Performance: Akshita Saravana
Corona Fundamental Intermediate School, Riverside County. Teacher – Sara Hester
Title: Sati: A Widow's Right to Live, Society's Responsibility to Protect

Honorable Mention – Junior Individual Website: Vinay Rao
Sierra Madre Middle School, Los Angeles County. Teacher – Julie Martinez & Lisabet Nepf
Title: "Bad Blood": Rights and Responsibilities following the Tuskegee Syphilis Study

Honorable Mention – Senior Group Documentary: Renee Chu & Jollyn Gunardi
South San Francisco High, San Mateo County. Teachers – Rhonda Clements, Kimberly Chin, Kyle Killeen, Laurel Dearborn, & Sharon Celillo
Title: Prescribing a Nightmare: Thalidomide's Wake Up Call for Global Regulation

Honorable Mention – Senior Group Exhibit: Augusta Chen & Felix Chen
The Harker School, Santa Clara. Teachers – Byron Stevens & Ramsay WestgateTitle: Should I Sacrifice to Live Half American?: The Double V Campaign and the African-American Struggle for Rights through Responsibility during World War II

LATINO AMERICAN HISTORY SPECIAL AWARD

Junior Group Documentary: Poiema Bernier, Rebekah Miller, Lucas Menendez, & Enoch Wu
Acaciawood Preparatory Academy, Orange County. Teachers – Karen Kayekjian, Carolin Menendez, & Jessica Bernier
Title: The Right to Stay: Doss v Bernal Dismantling Housing Segregation

IRISH OR IRISH-AMERICAN HISTORY SPECIAL AWARD

Senior Individual Performance: Zachary Sinha
The Cambridge School, San Diego County. Teacher – Cherie Redelings
Title: From Language Revival to Irish Nationalism: The Gaelic League and the Responsibility to Fight for Cultural and Political Rights

Senior Historical Paper: Rahul Sundaresan
The Harker School, Santa Clara County. Teachers – Byron Stevens & Ramsay Westgate
Title: Rights vs. Responsibilities: The Irish Nationalists of the RIC in the War for Independence

OUTSTANDING IN STATE

Junior Individual Exhibit: Georgia Nunez-Corvera
Sierra Middle School, Riverside County. Teacher – Edwin Rumsey
Title: Sunny Days: Sesame Street’s Fight for Educational Rights, Equality, and Media Responsibilit

Senior Group Performance: Piper Allen, Mason Pitcher, Kyle Mrkaich, Selena Wall, & Daniel Green
Edison High School, Fresno County. Teacher – Gary Mrkaich
Title: Today Is My Death Day

NATIONAL HISTORY ACADEMY SCHOLARSHIP

Senior Individual Exhibit: Samantha Bailey
Orange County School of the Arts. Orange County. Teacher – Lana Sawalha
Title: Forbidden to Fundamental: Perez v. Sharp's Defense of Marriage Rights and Call for Constitutional Responsibility