Rockwood Students Earn Awards, Advance at Missouri National History Day Competition

Students from Marquette High and Crestview Middle earned awards and advanced to the national round at the state National History Day competition at the University of Missouri-Columbia on April 25.

The students who competed had previously qualified for the state level by placing in the top three in their categories at the regional competition in March at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Between competitions, students worked with the teacher sponsors at their schools to improve their projects based on judges’ feedback. At state, students presented their projects and were interviewed by judges regarding their extensive research that spanned the school year. 

Marquette's Rohan Deshpande, Yoga Maheshwar Reddy Boddapati and the team of Amanda Moi, Sidd Sawant, Yvette Yaroshenko and Dhruv Chakravarthula each placed first in their categories, the team of Brina Mudduluri, Isabella Sun, Alita Kiron, Isabelle Ter-Hovhannisyan and Alexia Bikilie placed second, and Avanti Srinivasan placed third.

Crestview's Nyla Kurapati and Nayana Narendrula each placed third in their categories.

First- and second-place finishers in each category qualified for the national competition held, which will be held June 14-18 at the University of Maryland-College Park. Students placing third will serve as alternates if one of the top two individuals/groups cannot attend the national competition. 

The students have worked since the beginning of the school year on historical topics of their choosing centered on this year's NHD theme, "Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History." Students completed advanced historical research and analysis to construct projects in one of the following categories: documentary, exhibit, paper, website or dramatic performance.

The competition was the same day as Marquette's prom, so gifted resource teacher Dr. Megan Burian surprised the juniors and seniors who left the competition before the results with their medals at prom!

Congratulations to these outstanding Rockwood students! Read below for more informatiobn.

Marquette Results

Rohan Deshpande, 1st Place Senior Individual Documentary 
Cleared for Takeoff: How the TWA Mothers Fight Against Gender Discrimination Reformed the Aviation Industry and Civil Rights
Also earned the American Association of University Women of Missouri Award

Yoga Maheshwar Reddy Boddapati - 1st Place Senior Paper
Paving over Community: Highways, Power, and Richmond Heights
Also earned the Floyd C. Shoemaker Prize and the Local History Prize

Amanda Moi, Sidd Sawant, Yvette Yaroshenko, Dhruv Chakravarthula - 1st Place Senior Group Documentary
Phyllis Schlafly: The Woman Who Led Americans in the Movement that Killed the ERA 

Brina Mudduluri, Isabella Sun, Alita Kiron, Isabelle Ter-Hovhannisyan, Alexia Bikilie - 2nd Place Senior Group Performance
Banking on Justice: How the 1963 Jefferson Bank Protests Achieved Employment Reform for African Americans in St. Louis 

Avanti Srinivasan - 3rd Place Senior Individual Website
The Class Before Independence: The Regulator Movement and the Battle for Justice at Alamance

Crestview Results

Nyla Kurapati - 3rd Place Junior Individual Documentary 
Live Where You Like: The Greater St. Louis Committee for Freedom of Residence’s Fight for Fair Housing
Also earned the Local History Prize

Nayana Narendrula - 3rd Place Junior Individual Exhibit
Haitian Revolution