A student from Snowville Elementary School represented Pulaski County Public Schools recently, earning high marks at Virginia History Day at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Richmond.
Roland Thompson, a fourth-grade student from Snowville Elementary School and the son of Roxanne and Michael Souma, traveled to Richmond Saturday, April 23, to compete at the state level after earning first place in the Youth Individual Exhibit Board category with his exhibit titled, “Will Liberty Get to Enlighten the World?” at the district level.
At the state level, Thompson was in competition against eight districts that compete in this event across the Commonwealth. Pulaski County students compete in this event as a part of District 3, which includes Alleghany, Botetourt, Covington, Craig, Danville, Floyd, Franklin, Henry, Montgomery, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Pulaski, Radford, Roanoke and Salem.
National History Day (NHD) is a nonprofit education organization established in 1974 with over half a million students participating around the world annually. Each year, the National History Day committee selects a theme that students center their research around. For 2022, the theme is “Debate and Diplomacy: Success, Failures, Consequences.”
Projects are scored based on Historical Quality and Clarity of Presentation. Projects include extensive research in both primary and secondary sources. For most students, it takes all year to prepare for the competition.
In the division Thompson was competing in, there were seven students, with the top three being recognized.
First place honors went to Ethan Zang with his display "Igniting Debate and Reform: How the U.S. Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program Shaped China’s Modernization."
Thompson took second place with his display, which was about Joseph Pulitzer and the crowdfunding effort to pay for the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal titled “Debate and Diplomacy over Funding the Statue of Liberty.”
Third place honors went to Celeste Ide with her display “Addie Card: Activist or Reluctant Poster Child?"
Elementary school students cannot compete beyond the state level at this time, which means Thompson’s History Day adventures are complete for 2022.
One other Pulaski County student, Pulaski County Middle School eighth-grader Heather Holman, also attended and presented a display in the event. PCMS students Addison Dean, Victoria Hale, Carlie Hamblin, Maely Howlett, Elise Kirtner, Kasch Morrell, Ellie Peterson, Addison Puckett, Logan Wright, and Matthias Wright also competed at the district level earlier in the year.
“We’re very proud of Roland and Heather and the way they’ve represented themselves and our school system,” Dr. Kevin Siers, Superintendent of Pulaski County Public Schools said. “We’re very excited to see this program making a comeback and feel like the success that all our students had this year will help motivate others to make even bigger strides next year.”