GPS Students Finish Strong at Regional National History Day Competition

The girls of the GPS had an impressive showing at the regional National History Day competition held at Lee University last weekend. This year’s NHD theme was “Turning Points in History.” GPS entered 27 girls from the ninth grade and two from the sixth; 13 of those competing came home with a medal from the competition, including first in two categories, second in three, and third in one. First and second place finishers are eligible to compete at the state level in Nashville in April.

 

In the senior category, Greta Olson '27 took first place in Senior Individual Documentary for her project on the Chernobyl disaster; Mary Alden Miller '27 and Tessa Rafiee '27 took second in the Senior Group Documentary category for their work on the development of anesthesia; Finley Snow '27 came second for her Senior Individual Exhibit on the environmental cleanup of Chattanooga; Lily Haney '27, Josie Julienne '27, and Jolie Wilson '27 earned second place for their Senior Group Website on Lois Weber, a pioneering filmmaker and social commentator; And Addie Baird '27, Manning Boehm '27, Hallie Hampton '27, and Addy Miles '27 earned third place in the Senior Group Performance.

 

In the junior category, Abigail Eaton '30 and Claire Smith '30 earned first place in the Junior Group Website competition for their collaborative project on Enheduanna, a pioneering woman author from ancient Mesopotamia—the first author ever whose name is known to us!

 

GPS Humanities Coordinator and sponsor of the after-school NHD enrichment activity Dr. Ralph Covino said, “We are really quite proud of our girls and their achievement in the competition—not just for doing so well in a competition ‘dominated’ by upperclassmen from other area schools—but more for the depth of learning and collaboration displayed. We look forward to our girls continuing to work on their projects to improve them for the state competition and hopefully the national competition after that.”

 

Last year, current GPS sophomore Lenore Sanders '26 represented Tennessee at the national competition in the Senior Individual Exhibit category; fellow sophomores Caroline Carpenter, Ella Wiley, and Mia Brunetz qualified for nationals in the Senior Group Performance but were unable to attend.