The 2005 National History Day district competition for Lehigh and Northampton County students was held March 19 and 26 at Penn State Lehigh Valley. Students in grades six through 12 competed with a variety of history projects based on this year's theme, "Communication in History: The Key to Understanding."
Outstanding entries from schools throughout the Lehigh Valley were offered in the categories of: Individual Historical Papers, Individual Exhibits, Group Exhibits, Individual Performances, Group Performances, Individual Documentaries and Group Documentaries. The following is a list of the winners who will proceed on to the state competition at University Park in May.
Papers, senior division
-- Dorothy Chan, Parkland High School, "Commodore Perry Opens Japan: Westernizing the East"; and
-- Caroline Hsu, Emmaus High School, "Silent Spring: Rachel Carson's Method of Communication.
Junior division
-- Brian Goundie, Cathedral School, "Samuel Morse and the Telegraph that Changed the World";
-- Laura Shearman, Orefield Middle School, "Helen Keller: The Challenge to Communicate"; and
-- Katelyn Sheinberg, Springhouse Middle School, "Lighthouses as a Form of Communication."
Exhibits, senior individual
-- Justin Rabe, Parkland High School, "Fighting Flyers";
-- Heather Salasky, Emmaus High School, "Martin Luther King Jr.: Communicating Freedom and Civil Rights"; and
-- Anna Schall, Emmaus High School, "Cigarette Advertising in the U.S.: The Toxic Message."
Senior group
-- Mary Kate Kelly and Kimberly Grant, Allentown Central Catholic, "Finding My Way";
-- Alexandra Caulkins and Kelly Horlacher, Parkland High School, "The Underground Railroad"; and
-- Christina Kaufmann and Jocelyn Shubella, Allentown Central Catholic, "Answering the Call: The Hello Girls of World War I."
Exhibits, junior individual
-- Patrick Pagnano, Cathedral School, "Communication was Key on Flight 93";
-- Erin Callaghan, Cathedral School, "Spy Talk of the American Revolution"; and
-- Caitlin Hinkle, Lower Macungie Middle School, "The Kent State Massacre: A Failure to Communicate."
Junior group
-- Abigail Geisel and Courtney Sniscak, Orefield Middle School, "Stories from the Holocaust";
-- Zachary Groner and David Wench, Cathedral School, "The Navajo Code Talkers"; and
-- Meghan Lynch and Caitlin Hrebik, Cathedral School, "Navajo Code Talkers: World War II."
Documentaries, senior individual
-- Ryan Folio, Emmaus High School, "The History of Jazz: A History of Communication and Understanding"; and
-- Jonathon Tao, Emmaus High School, "Chinese Characters: An Everlasting Pictographic Script."
Senior group
-- Rachel Jennings, Matt Kosik and Kevin McKeegan, Emmaus High School, "The Telegraph's Effect on Communication in American History"; and
-- Jake Moore, Emmaus High School, "Navajo Code Talkers: Heroes of the Pacific Theater."
Junior individual
-- Daniel Miller, Orefield Middle School, "Philo Farnsworth and the Invention of the Television: Yesterday and Today"; and
-- Soham Sengupta, East Hills Middle School, "Behind the Saviors of Slaves: The Communication of the Underground Railroad."
Junior group
-- Ajay Koti and Eashwar Rangarajan, East Hills Middle School, "A Force More Powerful: Gandhi's Peaceful Communication";
-- Shannon Tomlinson and Giana Walton, East Hills Middle School, "Raising Doubts Without Words: Photographic Journalism of the Vietnam War";
-- Bryan Knouse, Aaron Levick and Alexander Stein, Springhouse Middle School, "The Beatles: A Soundtrack For the 1960s"; and
-- Alexander Caballero and David Tench, Springhouse Middle School, "The '30s and its Music: Communicating The Opinion of the People."
Performances, senior individual
-- Meghan Kusko, Allentown Central Catholic, "Hanging It on the Line: Communication in the Underground Railroad."
Senior group
-- Michele Schuler, Mandi Siegfried and Alice Sloan, Emmaus High School, "The History of Early Radio Public Broadcasting"; and
-- Alexandra Mosser and Lisa Rhodes, Emmaus High School, "The Seneca Falls Convention: The Birth of Communicating Women's Equal Rights."
Junior individual
-- Steven Rosen, Springhouse Middle School, "Elie Wiesel Writes . . . So We May Never Forget";
-- Victoria Brahm, Springhouse Middle School, "African-American Slave Songs: A Means of Communication"; and
-- Emily Lydon, Cathedral School, "Big Mary Septak: Leading the Slavic Amazons of the Coal Fields."
Junior group
-- Megan Brown and Katarina Holmgren, Lower Macungie Middle School, "Female Spies in Wars: The Ever-changing Key to Understanding";
-- Nicole Misko and Sarah Swienckowski-Eckhart, East Hills Middle School, "911 Northampton County Emergency Dispatch";
-- Theresa DeCaprio and Rachel Velecina, Lower Macungie Middle School, "Communication throughout the Underground Railroad"; and
-- Sarah Jagiela, Kaitlyn Klingensmith, Tatum Lawerence and Alicia Varcoe, Orefield Middle School, "Oz: The Key to Understanding Populism."