Congratulations to our 2025 NHD Massachusetts National Competitors!

65 students from Massachusetts competed at the 2025 National Contest for National History Day last week, and nine were recognized with top honors.

Yueshin Yu, an eighth-grader from Ottoson Middle School, placed third in the country for a website on "Defining Family: The Legal Battle for LGBT Rights in Braschi v. Stahl." Yueshin's teacher is Jason Levy.

Spencer Carman, a sophomore at Arlington High, won the E Pluribus Unum Prize for a performance on "The 504 Sit-ins: Establishing Disability Rights and Ensuring Governmental Responsibility." Spencer's teacher is Emily Tessier. The E Pluribus Unum Prize is sponsored by the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission and the America 250 Foundation to recognize an outstanding project that explores how individuals or groups of people have challenged each other and the status quo to create “a more perfect union.”

Two students were awarded Outstanding Massachusetts Affiliate awards:

• Yueshin Yu, Ottoson Middle School, teacher Jason Levy, for her Junior Individual Website: "Defining Family: The Legal Battle for LGBT Rights in Braschi v. Stahl." 
• Anjie Chen, Bedford High, teacher Patrick Culhane, for her Senior Individual Exhibit: "The Barbaric Nature of Imperialism:  The Rights and Responsibilities of Acknowledging and Redressing Imperial Destruction"

Seven students ranked in the top ten in the country for their category:

• Abby Duffield, Emelia Malm, and Olivia Sancinito, Marshall Simonds Middle School, teacher Barbara Sturtevant, for their Junior Group Documentary: "Rights in Focus: Jacob Riis and the Fight for Tenements Reform"
• Abhay Sharma, Marshall Simonds Middle School, teacher Barbara Sturtevant, for his Junior Paper: "From Pureed Rats to Pure Food: How Upton Sinclair’s "The Jungle" Sparked the Birth of the FDA and the Right to Safe, Clean Food"
• Anjie Chen, Bedford High, teacher Patrick Culhane, for her Senior Individual Exhibit: "The Barbaric Nature of Imperialism:  The Rights and Responsibilities of Acknowledging and Redressing Imperial Destruction"
• Isabella Connelly Dow and partner V.D., Boston Latin, teacher Evelyn Dykema, for their Senior Group Documentary: "Fuel for Fire: How Czechoslovak Citizens Employed their Liberal Art Skills to Liberate Themselves

Congratulations to these students and to all of the outstanding Massachusetts competitors who represented Massachusetts at the 2025 National Competition!