Mayfield Woods Student Takes Outstanding State Entry Award at National History Day Competition

July 9th, 2020

Mayfield Woods Middle School eighth grader Kendall Madison was awarded top honors at the virtual National History Day competition last month at University of Maryland, College Park. Her Junior Individual Exhibit entry entitled, “Elizabeth Blackwell: Breaking Barriers for Women in the Medical Field,” was ranked as a finalist and the outstanding Maryland state entry.

Madison’s entry was sponsored by the Mayfield Woods Social Studies team of Kathleen Quinn and Tim Grafton, and Gifted and Talented Resource Teacher Elizabeth Singleton.

In total, 17 HCPSS students participated in the virtual National History Day competition, after winning first or second place at the virtual Statewide Maryland History Day competition in May. These students won competitions at the school and county level, and were competing against hundreds of students from across the nation.

Students presented entries in one of five categories: exhibit, performance, multimedia documentary, research paper and website. The process started at the beginning of the school year as students conducted historical research on a self-selected topic that related to this year’s National History Day theme of Breaking Barriers in History. A research question guided students to explore and interpret both primary and secondary resources. After gathering data and research, students analyzed the information, drew conclusions and began creation of the History Day project entry to submit for review.

For more information at the HCPSS level, contact Kelly Reichardt, the Howard County History Day coordinator, at 443-695-4956. For more information on National History Day, contact Maryland History Day Program Officer Stephanie Boyle at 410-685-4185, or visit the National History Day website.