Researching, writing and creating a project in five months is not an easy task. Only a select few dedicated and ambitious students take on the challenge of participating in the annual National History Day competition.

The long process of preparing for the 2012 contest began earlier this month. Numbers of participants from the school are up about 10 percent this year, at around 50 to 75 students, with an increase in World History students, according to history teacher Matt Torrens.

This year’s National History Day theme is “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History.” Torrens is looking forward to this topic and the upcoming year’s projects.

“[This year’s topic] is fantastic for sophomores,” Torrens said. ”’Revolution’ is a constant theme as they touch on the American, Haitian, French, Russian, Indian and Chinese Revolutions.”
The theme will tie in to the upperclass history courses as well.

“In U.S. History and Gov and Econ, it’s a great theme because of all the cultural revolutions … such as religious revolution, judicial revolution, racial revolution, hippie revolution and others,” Torrens said.

Each student or group’s topic selection was due for approval on Sept. 26, and now the research process is beginning.

One History Day veteran is looking to repeat her successes this year.

Sophomore Anushree Dugar, who has participated in the contest for the past two years, was a county, state and national finalist last year. Her paper placed fourth nationally. Dugar has high expectations for this year.

“Last year I went to D.C. for the national competition … I’m hoping to improve on [fourth place in the nation].”

Having someone with so much success “helped [the school] set the bar high,” according to Torrens.
Dugar emphasized that History Day has helped her improve in other areas as well.

“The History Day Competition teaches you a lot about how to research, how to narrow down a topic and just history in general,” Dugar said. “I feel that it’s helped me in school.”

The History Day experience benefits the students, but teachers find it satisfying as well.

“Seeing the students get that look in their eyes,” Torrens said. “I didn’t tell them in a lecture or they didn’t read it in a textbook, but they ‘discovered’ it in some document or from an interview. It’s great to see that sparkle in their eye.”