Seven Troy students receive honors during Michigan History Day competition

TROY — Seven students from Troy Public Schools were among the 158 who received top honors at Michigan History Day’s State Finals competition on April 19.

The contest is an educational program associated with the Historical Society of Michigan. The society focuses on publications, conferences, education, awards and recognition programming, as well as support for local history organizations to preserve and promote Michigan’s history. Students have the opportunity to work with an annual theme and research a local, national or international historical topic. Students then present their original research in one of five categories: performances, exhibits, papers, websites and documentaries. 

The 2025 theme was “Rights and Responsibilities in History.” This year, 450 Michigan elementary, middle and high school students took part in the Michigan History Day State Finals contest at Central Michigan University.

In addition to the recognition given to the top finishers in each of the different categories, 45 students received monetary prizes and recognition for a variety of special awards. 

From Boulan Park Middle School, Abel Wilson and Marko Tomic received National Alternate in the Junior Group Website category as well as the Adler Award for Best Entry in Women’s History for their entry “The Damsels of Design: Pioneers for Women in the Automotive Industry.” 

"Being able to represent Boulan Park and Troy at the NHD (National History Day) competition this year was a fantastic experience and an honor for both of us,” Tomic and Wilson said in an email. “We have learned so much through this program, and both felt that the topic of rights and responsibilities helped highlight influential figures in history. Our topic of Harley Earl and the Damsels of Design really jumped out to us because our individual was local and made a big impact on the automotive industry."

Also from Boulan Park Middle School, Sonakshee Phukan received National Finalist in the Junior Individual Documentary category for their “It’s the Quaker in You That Counts: The Founding of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania” entry and Krushna Dhawale received Best Entry in Naval or Maritime History in the Junior Individual Exhibit for their entry, “Elizebeth Friedman: A Pioneer Cryptanalyst with Rights and Responsibilities.”

“I’m big on education and taking the responsibility to stand up with AND along others,” Phukan said in an email. “I picked this project topic because it resonates with today’s society, teaching people to view education as not a privilege for a specific gender, race, or class, but as something everyone should be born into. This prevents problems, fights, and teaches others to advocate for their rights by taking it upon themselves.”

Erika Berger and I are so proud of our competitors,” Michelle Slaviero, a history teacher at Boulan Park Middle School, said in an email. “The Boulan Park 8th graders that create Michigan History Day/National History Day projects think deeply about topics they are passionate about and produce websites, performances, papers, documentaries, and exhibits that reflect their passions and interests. Including the Michigan History Day/National History Day framework into our curriculum empowers students to create historical, thematic, persuasive thesis statements. They use research and analytical skills to locate primary sources that prove their thesis and that also relate to the yearly theme, in this case, ‘Rights and Responsibilities in History.’ NHD is the true work of historians, and every student grows as a result of completing these projects.”

Troy High School students, Sarah Lee, JingYi Ma, and Jack Xu, received National Finalist in the Senior Group Website category for their project, “Sovereignty on Trial: Worcester v. Georgia.”

Other award winners in the 2025 competition include students from Ann Arbor, Bay City, Beverly Hills, Bloomfield Hills, Brownstown Township, Canton, Dearborn Heights, Fraser, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Woods, Hamtramck, Houghton, Kalamazoo, Marquette, Monroe, Newport, Pickford, Saginaw, Sault Ste. Marie, South Haven, Traverse City, Westland, Whitehall and Woodhaven.

“The judges were very impressed by the variety of topics researched by students this year,” Claire Herhold, Michigan History Day state co-coordinator, said in a press release. “The 2025 theme, ‘Rights and Responsibilities,’ inspired many students to investigate the ways that communities across the globe have been tied to one another and how those consequences echo through time.”

The Historical Society of Michigan recognized three special teachers at the award ceremony. Brenton Fitzpatrick of Bothwell Middle School in Marquette and Christopher Hemler of University Liggett School (Grosse Pointe Woods) were nominated for the National History Day Teacher of the Year award. Also recognized was Jan Klco of Whitehall for her 40 years of service to the Michigan History Day program as a student coach, a district program coordinator, a state program coordinator and a mentor to many teachers and sponsors.

The 70 finalists in the junior and senior divisions will now move on to the National History Day competition, which will take place in College Park, Maryland. The winners of the national contest will be announced on June 12.

For more information, visit hsmichigan.org.