SHS rising junior, Keylee Lang, was awarded 1st place in Individual Exhibit as well as the Best Project in Women's History at Mississippi History Day in April. Her project will be on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History this week as part of the 50th Anniversary of National History Day.
This week, a group of 19 Starkville High School and Armstrong Junior High School students are visiting the nation's capital to participate in the 50th Anniversary National History Day (NHD) competition. As part of the event, an individual exhibit project created by SHS rising 11th grader, Keylee Lang, will be on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
Lang's project, entitled The Modern Woman: How Flappers Changed Society's Views on Women, won first place in the high school age division for Individual Exhibits at the state's Mississippi History Day (MHD) in April to qualify for competition at the national level. The project was also awarded Mississippi's Best Project in Women's History and was selected to be included in the NHD Showcase.
In addition to Lang's project, Starkville Oktibbeha School District students earned thirteen awards at the MHD state competition, with 19 students qualifying for competition in Washington this month.
According to the National History Day organization, a total of 99 student historical research projects – from papers and documentaries to performances and tabletop exhibits – will be displayed at Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the White House Historical Association on Wednesday, June 12. With projects originating from NHD affiliates across the country and globally, Lang's exhibit is the only project from Mississippi to be included in the prestigious selection of honorees.
NHD is a non-profit organization based in College Park, Maryland, that seeks to improve the teaching and learning of history. The National History Day Contest was established in 1974 and currently engages more than half a million students every year in conducting original research on historical topics of interest. Students present their research as a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. Projects compete first at the local and affiliate levels, where the top entries are invited to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park.
Starkville High School and Armstrong Junior High School Mississippi History Day winners and National History Day qualifiers:
Individual Exhibit
Senior 1st Place – Starkville High School – Keylee Lang
Group Documentary
Senior 1st Place – Starkville High School – Johnny Ford, Chyla Hanna, Jenna Holder, and Lindy Peterson
Senior 2nd Place – Starkville High School – Amy Choi, Jimin Kim, Mirae Nishikawa, and Claire Rhee
Individual Documentary
Senior 2nd Place – Starkville High School – Walter Giesen
Senior Alternate – Starkville High School – Eduardo Gonzalez-Orozco
Individual Website
Senior 2nd Place – Starkville High School – Sachiko Clay
Paper
Junior 1st Place – Armstrong Middle School – Ian Jung
Senior Alternate – Starkville High School – Allswell Nukpezah
Group Website
Junior 1st Place – Armstrong Middle School – Theo Ahn, Peter Buys, and Brendon Seo
Junior 2nd Place – Armstrong Middle School – Ian Alexander, Owen Crews, Brooks Fulford, and Joseph Thompson
Special Awards 2024
Reflecting Mississippi History Award – Walter Giesen
Best Project in Women’s History – Keylee Lang
Best Project in Military History – Theo Ahn, Peter Buys, and Brendan Seo
Best Project in Archival History – Sachiko Clay
