Walt Whitman students qualify for state history competition

Left to right: Jake Ward, Talia Guerrero, Walid Hasnaoui, Hope Walther and Natasha Windt. (Ellen Wise image)

Three Walt Whitman Middle School 7th graders will be representing their school at the Virginia History Day competition Saturday in Richmond.

The three students completed projects centered around this year’s theme — “Conflict and Compromise in History” — and did well enough at a March 17 regional competition to advance. The regional competition, held at Mount Vernon High School, featured schools from districts across Northern Virginia and farther down the Interstate 95 corridor.

Whitman’s winners were:

• Talia Guerrero – 1st Place Individual Exhibit for Illegal Occupation, Compromise of a Nation
• Jake Ward – 2nd Place Individual Exhibit for Nazi Medical Experiments
• Walid Hasnaoui – 2nd Place Individual Website for Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break the Silence

Additionally, two other students -– Natasha Windt and Hope Walther — won the Newseum First Amendment Freedoms Award sponsored by the Newseum for their group documentary entitled The Vietnam War and Student Protesters.

Virginia History Day is an annual event run in conjunction with National History Day, a non-profit group founded in 1974 that sponsors programs for middle and high school students around the country. It’s biggest program is The National Contest, which feature winners from each states’ history day competitions. It will be held in June at the University of Maryland.