Dickinson State University (DSU), in partnership with the Theodore Roosevelt Center (TRC), hosted National History Day on Tuesday, March 18, at DSU. During the event, area secondary students participated in the North Dakota Western Regional Contest, exploring the theme "Rights and Responsibilities in History."
National History Day in North Dakota is a project-based learning program that emphasizes critical reading and thinking skills, research, analysis, and the drawing of meaningful conclusions. Students can complete these projects in groups or as individuals in one of five categories: documentary, paper, exhibit, performance, or website. They then compete in either the junior (grades 6-8) or senior (grades 9-12) division.
Held in the DSU Student Center, more than 30 students presented their projects in the individual and group exhibit and individual paper categories. Through judging, 17 students were selected to advance to the state contest scheduled for April 16 at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum in Bismarck. First and second-place winners at the state contest will be eligible to compete in the national contest at the University of Maryland, College Park, in June.
Participants in the regional contest prepared projects on a variety of topics including the antebellum abolition movement, the Civil War, World War II, the Holocaust, women’s suffrage, Title IX, and more.
The students and projects eligible to advance to the state contest are:
Dickinson High School (Sponsor: Devan Douglas)
Alexys Deschamps and Katy Schlecht, “Dark Science: The Medical Backstory of WW2 and the Ethics of Today,” senior group exhibit.
Lucas Ward, “Your Right to Revolt,” senior individual exhibit.
Scranton Public Schools (Sponsors: Cristi Olson and Ryan Stuhaug)
Bentley Bergstrom and Porter Hofland, “Eminent Domain,” junior group exhibit.
Palmer Mack, Sawyer Weber, and Tessla Stevenson, “Her Voice Her Vote,” junior group exhibit.
Alyvia Kline and William Jorgens, “Holocaust History,” junior group exhibit.
Kendyl Symanowski, “Lets Dive Into Title IX,” junior individual exhibit.
Emett Young and Tyler Hofland, “Prohibition,” junior group exhibit.
Jace Palczewski, “Ready Up, Civilians,” junior individual exhibit.
Keegan Green, “Remembering the Holocaust,” junior individual exhibit.
Ellarie Olson, “Vaccine Debate Club,” junior individual exhibit.
Trinity Junior High (Sponsor: Tim Baustian)
Drew Wells, “Rights and Responsibilities of Early Ranchers in North Dakota,” junior paper.
“This is the third consecutive year that Dickinson State University has hosted the National History Day in North Dakota Western Regional Contest, and it has tripled in size each year,” said Dr. Jeff Wells, Dennis and Vaune Johnson Endowed Chair in U.S. History and professor of history at DSU. “We look forward to working with our partners to continue to grow this event and create excitement about history in our region’s secondary schools.”
In addition to the State Historical Society of North Dakota, the DSU Heritage Foundation, DSU’s Theodore Roosevelt Center, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, and the Dickinson Museum Center supported the event. Students from DSU’s Alpha Lambda Pi chapter of Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society volunteered at the contest.
“The Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University is a proud supporter of National History Day,” said Dr. William J. Hansard, the center’s outreach coordinator. “Our staff members gladly serve as judges for regional and state contests in North Dakota”
In addition to assisting the regional and state contests, the Theodore Roosvelt Center answers reference requests from students all over the United States working on TR-related NHD projects. The center helps find primary sources and serve as experts for interviews.
"I am always thrilled when I get an opportunity to help students with their NHD projects," I learn something new every year serving as an NHD judge,” Hansard said. “As cliche as it sounds, I really do feel that I learn as much from students as they learn from me."
National History Day in North Dakota provides teacher training and classroom resources throughout the year. Students, teachers, or parents interested in participating in the 2025 contest should reach out to Madison Milbrath, the education outreach coordinator at the State Historical Society of North Dakota and the state coordinator for National History Day, (701) 328-2794 or mrmilbrath@nd.gov.
The Theodore Roosevelt Center may be found online at https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/. NHD teachers or students seeking assistance with TR-related projects may reach Hansard at (701) 502-4366 or william.hansard@dickinsonstate.edu.
Check out photos from DSU's National History Day Contest on Flickr.