Middle-schooler wins state competition...again

Dripping Springs Middle School student Grant Gillum won the Texas History Day: Junior Division competition for the second consecutive year.

The state competition took place on Saturday, April 23 in Austin. Gillum earned first place in the junior division, grades six through eight, for his website, “The 1959 Soviet-American Exhibitions: Cultural Diplomacy Sparks a Debate in the Kitchen.” Gillium also won the regional competition in February, qualifying him for state.

Gillum will compete virtually in the national event from June 12 through 16. This is the third-straight year a DSISD student has advanced to nationals.

Sycamore Springs Middle School student Blaine Lovett was a state finalist for his individual performance, “Chernobyl: Through the Eyes of an Old Man,” to place among the top 10 projects in the state.

SSMS students Landon Treague and Diego Barreto were awarded two special prizes for their documentary, “Pearl Harbor.” They were honored with the Maritime Projects prize by the National Maritime Historical Society, awarded to the top two maritime entries. They also received the Naval Order of the United States recognition from the Texas Commandery of the Naval Order of the United States, awarded to entries that have researched and prepared projects relating to naval and maritime subjects.

SSMS students Amir Banky and Cooper Gray were also state qualifiers with their exhibit, “Why Normandy? The Allies Debate Where to Land.”

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 was “Debate & Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences.”