Central ND News

Dickinson State University (DSU) collaborated with the Theodore Roosevelt Center to host National History Day on March 18. The event, held at DSU, featured the North Dakota Western Regional Contest for secondary students who explored the theme "Rights and Responsibilities in History."

National History Day in North Dakota focuses on project-based learning, encouraging critical skills such as reading, thinking, research, analysis, and drawing conclusions. Students can work individually or in groups in categories like documentary, paper, exhibit, performance, or website. They compete in junior (grades 6-8) or senior (grades 9-12) divisions.

The contest took place at the DSU Student Center with over 30 students presenting projects in various categories. Seventeen students were selected to move forward to the state contest on April 16 at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum in Bismarck. Winners of the state contest will qualify for a national competition at the University of Maryland, College Park in June.

Participants prepared projects on diverse topics including abolition movements before the Civil War, World War II events such as the Holocaust, women’s suffrage efforts like Title IX reforms, among others.

Projects advancing to the state level include:

From Dickinson High School:

- Alexys Deschamps and Katy Schlecht with “Dark Science: The Medical Backstory of WW2 and the Ethics of Today.”

- Lucas Ward with “Your Right to Revolt.”

From Scranton Public Schools:

- Bentley Bergstrom and Porter Hofland with “Eminent Domain.”

- Palmer Mack, Sawyer Weber, and Tessla Stevenson with “Her Voice Her Vote.”

- Alyvia Kline and William Jorgens with “Holocaust History.”

- Kendyl Symanowski with “Lets Dive Into Title IX.”

- Emett Young and Tyler Hofland with “Prohibition.”

- Jace Palczewski with “Ready Up, Civilians.”

- Keegan Green with “Remembering the Holocaust.”

- Ellarie Olson with “Vaccine Debate Club.”

From Trinity Junior High:

- Drew Wells presented a paper titled “Rights and Responsibilities of Early Ranchers in North Dakota.”

Dr. Jeff Wells expressed enthusiasm about hosting this event for three consecutive years: "This is the third consecutive year that Dickinson State University has hosted the National History Day in North Dakota Western Regional Contest," he said. "It has tripled in size each year."

Support for this event came from several organizations including DSU’s Heritage Foundation and Alpha Lambda Pi chapter of Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society whose members volunteered during contests.

Dr. William J. Hansard from TRC stated: "The Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University is a proud supporter of National History Day." He emphasized their role as judges while assisting student projects across America related to Theodore Roosevelt themes.

Madison Milbrath serves as education outreach coordinator for those interested in future contests through her contact details provided by DSU’s release notes along with Dr. Hansard's availability online via https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/.

Photos from DSU's National History Day Contest are available on Flickr.