DSHS freshman advances to Texas history competition

Dripping Springs High School freshman Grant Gillum captured first place in the Senior Division Individual Website category at the Cen-Tex History Day Contest to advance to the state competition. He is the first Dripping Springs ISD student to compete in the Senior Division in a National History Day contest event.

Gillum is a two-time state champion and placed third at the national contest in 2021. His website, “Power for the People: Taming the Texas Hill Country Electrification Frontier” was based on the 2022– 2023 theme, “Frontiers in History: People, Places, and Ideas.” Gillum’s faculty sponsor is long-time National History Day teacher Kibbie Jensen.

The National History Day contest encourages more than 300,000 students nationwide to conduct historical research on a topic of their choice. Each year, a theme is chosen for broad application to world, national, or state history and its relevance to ancient history or to the more recent past.

Gillum will compete in the Texas History Day Contest on Saturday, April 15 in Austin.