Birchwood Students Soar at National History Day Competition

In the historical paper category, Haadeya Salman earned second place for her paper on the Erie Canal. In the individual documentary category, Birchwood had a very strong showing. Joshua Gordon earned a first place award for his documentary on the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. Joshua Thomas earned a third place award for his project about John Snow and the beginning of the field of epidemiology. Divyam Purohit received an honorable mention for his documentary on Gandhi. In the group documentary category, Arav Bhandari and Suryan Jain finished first for their documentary about Enrico Fermi, a pioneer in the nuclear fission frontier. Andrew  Kwawam and Brian Milindi placed third with their focus on the Ghost Army and the use of deception in WWII which caused the Germans to think the D-Day invasion would begin at a different location.

In the individual website category, Jonathan Samulak placed first for his project about Sputnik. In group websites, Birchwood took home a 2nd and 3rd place award. Placing second were Leen Salem, Rhea Kumar and Ayah Dinary for their website on Lewis Hine and how his photography helped end child labor. Placing third were Maliha Nadkarni and Saanvi Chari with their website on the Blackwell sisters. In individual performances, Caroline Lu placed first with her portrayal of Lise Meitner, the real yet unacknowledged discoverer of nuclear fission. Sabrina Syed placed third for her performance about Marie Curie and her discovery of radium. The group performance about the origins of the Cleveland Clinic by Manya Raina, Yara Salam, and Ishika Chand placed second.

Birchwood had two entries place in the exhibit categories. Sixth grader Sofia Sideris placed second for her individual exhibit about Cleveland newscaster Dorothy Fuldheim. In group exhibits, Zora Asalu and Kritika Chahar received an honorable mention for their project on the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case. 

All the students mentioned above will participate in the state level of the National History Day competition on April 22, 2023, twenty-two students in all. In addition, there were several special awards handed out. Three projects received recognition from the Early Settlers Association of the Western Reserve for their focus on local history. Stephen Parrino received an award for his paper on the NASA Lewis Space Center. Manya Rain, Yara Salam and Ishika Chand received an award for their performance about the vision of Cleveland Clinic’s founders, and Sofia Sideries was awarded for her exhibit on Dorothy Fuldheim. The Cleveland Grays recognize quality projects on military history. Receiving recognition were Niko Alicea, Daniel Shumway and Cameron Evans for their exhibit on the beginning of tanks. Andrew Kwawam and Brian Milindi were also recognized for their project on the deceptive techniques used by the American military in WWII. These students will present their projects at a reception hosted by the Cleveland Grays at a later time. The Friends of the Maltz Museum awarded Caroline Lu the top prize in the junior division for her portrayal of Lise Meitner. The Sons of the American Revolution presented an award to Ted Alten and Ashton Khoury for their website on the Declaration of Independence.

National History Day (NHD) is a highly regarded academic program for elementary and secondary school students. Each year, more than half a million students nationwide participate in the NHD contest. Students choose historical topics related to the year’s theme and conduct extensive primary and secondary research through libraries, archives, museums, oral history interviews and historic sites. After analyzing and interpreting their sources and drawing conclusions about their topics’ significance in history, students present their work in original papers, websites, exhibits, performances and documentaries.