Walt Whitman High School Student Wins National History Day Award

BETHESDA, MD — A Walt Whitman High School student won an outstanding state entry in the senior division of the National History Day competition.

Dresden Benke won in the individual website category with the topic “Dams, Disagreements, and Diplomacy: The Nile River Dilemma.” Benke’s teacher at Walt Whitman, Colin O’Brien, provided guidance on the project.

The National History Day competition involved more than 2,500 students in the final stage. More than a half-million students participated at the local level. The event was conducted online this year.

Maryland Humanities produces Maryland History Day, an affiliate of National History Day, where students research a topic using primary sources and create a project of their choice under a certain theme.

Benke was among six Montgomery County students who received special prizes, were awarded outstanding state entry, or received another form of special recognition at this year’s National History Day competition, where 61 Maryland students competed.

National History Day is a nonprofit group based in College Park that seeks to improve the teaching and learning of history. The National History Day Contest was established in 1974 and encourages students to conduct original research on historical topics of interest.

Students present their research as a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. Projects compete first at the local and affiliate levels, where the top entries are invited to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park.