Beaverton Student Takes Top Honors at Oregon History Day Competition

BEAVERTON, OR — Dozens of Oregon students representing a handful of schools will travel to Washington D.C. in June to take part in the National History Day competition.

Held from June 11 to June 15 at the University of Maryland, the National History Day contest brings hundreds of thousands of students from across the country to exhibit focused work based on the competition's theme for a shot at scholarships, prestige, and national awards. This year's theme, Taking a Stand in History, drew entries covering historical figures like Susan B. Anthony, Desmond Tutu, Jackie Robinson, Galileo Galilei, Malala Yousafzai, and Oskar Schindler, to name a few.

Selected as the state's top entry at the Oregon History Day competition at Concordia University in Portland on April 22, Eshani Jha — an 8th grader from the Beaverton School District's Stoller Middle School — won for her documentary "Mahatma Gandhi: Messenger of Peace."

An Indian descendent herself, Jha told Patch in an email that Ghandi is an idol in her home for his role as a civil rights activist throughout the early 20th century.

"Mahatma Gandhi took a stand in history to fight oppression. His tools were truth and nonviolence," Jha said. "I look up to him as an iconic leader. He paved the way for other civil rights activists like Martin Luther King Jr. … (and) I am proud that we share the same Indian roots, even though I am American."

For her award, Jha will receive round-trip air fare to the national contest, where she'll join 52 other Oregon students in the main competition.

Stoller Principal Florence Richey was equally excited to honor Jha for her work, adding that understanding history is key to making progress in the future.

"Oddly enough, with a background in science and a passion for all things science and math related, I clearly know there will always be a need to provide students opportunities to explore multiples domains, such as History, Art, Humanities, and Music," Richey said. "I love the idea of studying History because our young future leaders need to remember our past in order for us to move forward."

In the Portland region, winning students represented Westview and Sunset high schools in Beaverton, Tigard High School, and Access Academy, Mt. Tabor Middle School, and Oregon Episcopal School in Portland.

Click here for a full list of Oregon's winning students and their projects.

Students submit their entries individually or as a group via one of several available mediums, such as a research paper, website, video documentary, tabletop exhibits, or a performance. In Oregon, 53 students qualified to compete in the national contest, with schools in Eugene, Beaverton, and Portland representing most of the students — though rural schools in Echo, Helix, Sutherlin, Lowell, Madras, and Medford supplied winning students as well.

More than 500,000 students and 30,000 teachers participate in the national contest every year, according to an Oregon Historical Society statement. The participants come from schools in every U.S. state and territory, which includes Guam, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico, as well as from international schools in China, Korea, South Asia, and Central America.

According to National History Day organizers, the competition helps foster a greater appreciation for history in younger Americans.

Created in 1974 as a response to the perceived devaluation of history that was occurring in public schools at the time, the National History Day organization has only grown since then — and now it puts a greater emphasis on the return participating kids see for their efforts, such as improved test scores, work habits, and communication skills.

This short video from the National History Day website helps explain:

For more information on National History Day, visit www.nhd.org.

This post was updated to include comments from Oregon History Day winner Eshani Jha and Stoller Middle School Principal Florence Richey.

Photo Courtesy: Oregon Historical Society