Riverside County students participate in national history contest

The results are in for the 2023 Riverside County National History Day competition that took place Saturday at Canyon Springs High School in Moreno Valley, the County Office of Education announced.

“Large exhibit boards, performance props, website pages, and documentary videos, were just a few of the categories of student projects” at the competition, which featured 203 projects involving 356 students on the theme of “Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas,” according to the Office of Education. 

The competition showcased the work of students in grades 4 and 5 who took part in the poster and podcast categories, while junior division students in grades 6-8 and senior division competitors in grades 9-12 created projects in the categories of documentary, performance, exhibit, paper, website and podcast.

After the day of competition and judging was completed, students and their families attended an awards ceremony — 73 projects by 129 students were selected to advance to the statewide competition, the Office of Education reported.

“The top three finishers in each category in the junior and senior division, and the top four finishers in the poster competition for 4th and 5th grade students, advanced to the National History Day-California State Competition to be held April 14-16, 2023, at California State University, Sacramento,” according to the Office of Education. “Winners at the state level advance to the National History Day Competition, June 11-15, 2023, at the University of Maryland, College Park.”

Students from the following Riverside County school districts and private schools are set to participate: Alvord Unified School District, Banning USD, Corona-Norco USD, Crossroads Christian High School, Moreno Valley USD, Perris Union HSD, Riverside USD, Romoland SD, St. Jeanne de Lestonnac School and Val Verde USD.

The following are projects eligible to move on to the National History Day-California competition:

Elementary Group Podcast — “Elvis Presley Podcast,” Roman Basurto, Baylee Cook, Samantha Miller, Corona Ranch Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD

Elementary Individual Poster — “Dr. Leonard Bailey,” Evan Edwards, Mark Twain Elementary School, Riverside USD; “Frontiers in History American Astronauts Pioneering in Space,” Liam Wood, Moreno Elementary School, Moreno Valley USD; “Elizabeth Blackwell,” Ruby Cisneros, Edgemont Elementary School, Moreno Valley USD; “The Invention Edge of Paper – A Frontier in History,” Kayla Nguyen, Prado View Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD

 Elementary Group Poster — “The First Voyage to the Moon,” Blake Persek, Rhys Van Liere, Temescal Valley Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD; “Mahatma Gandhi,” Ashby Barba, Visesio Hausia, Jayden Miranda, Romelo Ruiz Edgemont Elementary School, Moreno Valley USD; “Frontiers in History: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” Adrian Bahena, Alexa Villagomez, Boulder Ridge Elementary School, Romoland SD; “To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before: How Star Trek Embarked on New Frontiers in Cultural and Societal Change in History,” Lilyana Covington, Elijah Holm, Seneca Elementary School, Moreno Valley USD

Junior Individual Documentary — “Penicillin: The Cure That Saved 3/4 Of Humanity — And May Also Spell Its Doom,” Lauren Ho, Corona Fundamental Intermediate School, Corona-Norco USD; “Apple’s Macintosh: The Failure that Changed Personal Computing,” Kian Revale, Lakeside Middle School, Val Verde USD; “Prosthetics: Changing Lives One Limb at a Time,” Diya Vora, Lincoln Fundamental Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD

Junior Group Documentary — “A Tale as Old as Time: Breaking Frontiers With Polio And Vaccine Marketing,” Stephanie Garcia, Francine Habacon, Kristie Wanjohi, Vista Verde Middle School, Val Verde USD; “Yuri Kochiyama,” Adalyn Hussey, Dawa Stanikzai, Lincoln Fundamental Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD; “English Everywhere: The Spread of English Through Colonization,” Jah Lovinus, Shankar Nair, Lincoln Fundamental Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD

Junior Individual Exhibit — “The Girl Scouts: Frontier of Young Female Empowerment,” Chelsea Guerrero, Vista Heights Middle School, Moreno Valley USD; “William T.G. Morton: A Pioneer of the Working Miracle,” Patrick Moon, Amelia Earhart Middle School, Riverside USD; “Opening New Frontiers In Technicolor The Wizard of Oz’s New Adventure,” Joselyn Lopez, Vista Heights Middle School, Moreno Valley USD

Junior Group Exhibit — “Submarine Warfare: The New Frontier,” Kimiko Kitayama, Elisa McFeeters, Julio Zelaya, Vista Heights Middle School, Moreno Valley USD; “The First Women of West Point,” Kathryn Gleeny, Cailyn Ha, Clara Barton Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD; “International Space Station,” Ethan Lundberg, Deigo Morfin Vista Heights Middle School, Moreno Valley USD

Junior Individual Performance — “Virginia Hall: Crossing Gender Frontiers in Espionage and Intelligence,” Ava George Corona, Fundamental Intermediate School, Corona-Norco USD; “Marching for Salt and a New Frontier,” Katalina De Haro, Matthew Gage Middle School, Riverside USD; “Zoot Suit Riots – 1943,” Matias Molina, Vista Heights Middle School, Moreno Valley USD

Junior Group Performance — “Dolly the Sheep,” Sarah Chou, Alizey Lodi, Aimee Zhu, Clara Barton Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD; “Pioneering Technology: The Mother of Wi-Fi,” Charvi Elayaraja, Ankitha Garuadapuri, Clara Barton Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD; “Women’s Rights,” Mariam Anerio Basulto, Lorena Campos, Ruby Morales-Guzman, Danilie Williams Mountain View Middle School, Moreno Valley USD

Junior Individual Podcast — “The Singer Sewing Machine,” Ezekiel Geisner Ysmael Villegas Middle School, Alvord USD; “The Birth of Jazz,” Joshua Taylor, Vista Heights Middle School, Moreno Valley USD; “Tommy,” John Surgery, Warda Khan, Vista Heights Middle School, Moreno Valley USD

Junior Group Podcast — “Elizabeth Blackwell: Crossing Frontiers as First Female Doctor in the United States,” Brooke Barba, Maya Moran, Kelsey Troast, Matthew Gage Middle School, Riverside USD; “Over My Dead Body: How Henrietta Lacks Opened New Frontiers in Science and Bioethics,” Danni Brasher, Chloe Chun, Dr. Augustine Ramirez Intermediate School, Corona-Norco USD; “Frontiers of Rap and Hip-Hop,” Sydney McCall, Sa’Maya Taylor, Vista Heights Middle School, Moreno Valley USD

Junior Individual Website — “Barbie – The Empire Created by a Frontier in the Toy Market,” Mia Tustison, El Cerrito Middle School, Corona-Norco USD; “Florence Nightingale: Making a Difference in Healthcare and the Nursing Practice,” Leann De Guia, Riverside Virtual School, Riverside USD; “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: The Beginning of Women Novelists and Science Fiction,” Lyle Weems, Riverside STEM Academy, Riverside USD

Junior Group Website — “The Creation of Anesthesia,” Justin Hanich, Lucas Sugarman, Riverside STEM Academy, Riverside USD; “Nikola Tesla : Redefined the Frontier in the Field of Electricity and Communication,” Alexis Marquez, Asma Parekh, Aneri Patel Corona Fundamental Intermediate School, Corona-Norco USD; “Hiroshima & Nagasaki: A Frontier in Atomic Warfare,” Jayden Aguirre, Chloe Raranta, Matthew Gage Middle School, Riverside USD

Junior Paper — “Caesar v. Claudius: What It Took for Rome to Conquer the British Frontier,” Matthew Wilson, Matthew Gage Middle School, Riverside USD; “The Golden Frontier: Women’s Stories of Survival and Success,” Jazae-Zehra Rizvi, Vista Heights Middle School, Moreno Valley USD; “The Frontier of Flight: How the Jet Engine Revolutionized the World, James Havercroft, Amelia Earhart Middle School, Riverside USD

Senior Individual Documentary — “The Soundtrack for Change: Exploring the Frontier of 1960s Protest Music,” Shayna Ashley, Canyon Springs High School, Moreno Valley USD; “Finding Freedom in Poetry

Abigail Handojo,” St. Jeanne de Lestonnac School; “Riverside: A Frontier for Citrus in Southern California,” Talon Sotelo Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Senior Group Documentary — “Henry Ford and the Frontier of Factories,” Winston Clark, Elliott Davila, Michael Petrick, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD; “Color in Film: Pioneering a New Frontier in Cinematography,” Preesha Bhakta, Eileen Lin, Sophia Pham, Angelina Yang, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD; “Germ Theory of Disease: Breaking Myths and Frontiers,” Aarav Jain, Shreya Jain, Centennial High School and Lincoln Fundamental Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD 

Senior Individual Exhibit — “Blood Transfusion: A Lifesaving Frontier in History,” Emily Shin, Centennial High School, Corona-Norco USD; “Apollo 11 Neil Armstrong’s Landing on the Moon: Opening Up a Technological Frontier,” Melanie Meenan, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD; “Gallaudet’s Deaf President Now Movement: A Change in the Deaf Community,” Maya Maradiaga, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Senior Group Exhibit — “Expanding the Frontier of Criminal Apprehension Through Psychology,” Giselle Muhammad, George Orozco, Gerardo Vera, Canyon Springs High School, Moreno Valley USD; “Upton Sinclair Reveals the Truth Behind America’s Lacking Food Laws,” Ava Barbee, Ava Permann, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD; “Shooting for the Stars: The New Frontier Created by Guion Bluford,” Devyn Harrison, Sydney Reed, Polytechnic High School, Riverside USD

Senior Individual Performance — “‘Trans’ itioning into New Frontiers: The Fight for Transgender Rights,” Andrea Rackley, Canyon Springs, High School, Moreno Valley USD; “The San Patricios in the U.S. – Mexican War: Irish Immigrants Revolt in the New Frontier,” Emiliano Felix-Discussion, Canyon Springs High School, Moreno Valley USD

Senior Group Performance — “Civil Rights: African Americans Creating Frontiers in Hollywood Representation,” Amanda Acosta, Angelina Encarnacion, Laura Omiwade, Vianca Vilena, Rancho Verde High School, Val Verde USD; “Match Girls Strike: Lighting the way to a new Frontier of safe and fair working Conditions,” Rossana Chavez, Daniela Galindo, Pason Sellers, Shane Smith, Canyon Springs High School, Moreno Valley USD

 Senior Individual Podcast — “Tobacco’s 1998 Master Settlement Agreement: Exploring New Frontiers in Law and Public Health,” Zachary Brasher, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD; “Reaganomics: A Double-Edged Sword,” Vivien Colwell, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD; “Motown: Footprints to a New Frontier,” Carlie Adams, Canyon Springs High School, Moreno Valley USD

Senior Group Podcast — “The Hidden Figures,” Quincy Grotness, August Olague, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD; “Title IX,” Olivia Barba, Madison Land, Brooklyn Walker, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD; “The Transcontinental Railroad: An American Frontier For National Growth,” Hannah Gilbert, Piper Moreno, Isabel Rodriguez, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Senior Individual Website — “The Second Gold Rush: The History and Work of the Citrus Industry in Riverside, California,” Noah Holm, Moreno Valley High School, Moreno Valley USD; “Discovering Radium: How Marie Curie Created New Frontiers Within Chemistry,” Caitlyn Graham, Polytechnic High School, Riverside USD; “The Frontiers of the Panama Canal: Exploring New Technology in Medicine and Engineering,” Nathan Lee, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Senior Group Website — “The Jungle & The Pure-Food Legislation of 1906: A New Frontier for Food Safety,” Joseph Or, Yunshu Zhang, John W. North High School, Riverside USD; “Frontier in NeuroSurgery: Cerebral Hemispherectomy,” Ellie Byun, Connor Lee, Santiago High School, Corona-Norco USD; “The Annexation of Hawaii: A People’s Home and a Business Man’s Frontier,” Nimmer Kaur, Clara Nguyen, Saijal Pate, Rudri Soni, Centennial High School, Corona-Norco USD

Senior Paper — “From Text to Tongue How William Tyndale Ventured into Linguistic and Theological Frontiers,” Ruby Montes de Oca, Canyon Springs High School, Moreno Valley USD; Warfare of WWII and Developing the Modern Computer: Exploring the Frontier of Computer Science,” Kate Padua, John W. North High School, Riverside USD; “The Nuremberg Trials: The Modernization of Human Rights,” Emma Shah, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD