DSISD heads to state history contest

Dripping Springs Independent School District will be represented by six middle school students at the Texas History Day Contest after they placed in the top two of their respective events at the regional competition.

Dripping Springs Middle School eighth-grader Grant Gillum placed first in the region with his individual website, “The 1959 Soviet American Exhibition: Cultural Diplomacy.” Gillum previously captured a state title and was a third-place national finisher in 2021.

Sycamore Springs Middle School had five seventh-grade students advance to the state level. Blaine Lovett captured first place with his individual performance “Chernobyl: Through the Eyes of an Old Man.” Amir Banky and Cooper Gray teamed up for first in the group exhibit “Why Normandy? The Allies Debate Where to Land.” In addition, Landon Treague and Diego Barreto place second with their group documentary titled “Pearl Harbor.”

The National History Day contest encourages students 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. The 2021–2022 theme is “Debate & Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences”.

The state competition will be held Saturday, Apr. 23, in Austin.