National History Day (NHD), is one of the awesome programs under PRISM like FPS, Senario Writing, Inquiry and Makers. For those of you who may not know about the program, NHD is a history competition where students chose a topic related to the year's theme. After choosing their topic, they will research by gathering primary and secondary sources and conducting interviews. After doing so, students create a product that reflects their research.
I have been doing NHD for the past two years. Last year's theme was Rights and Responsibilities. My topic was "Responsible Food Labeling: Consumers' Right to Know." I didn't make it past the regional competition since my final product did not follow the rules. Though I felt discouraged, I learnt a lot that year and felt motivated to do it again the following year. The most important thing I discovered that year was my love and passion for informing others about food issues. One of the people I interviewed for my NHD project was Dr. Micheal Jacobson of the CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest). He suggested that I run Food Day at CMS and from there the seed grew.
Now fast forward to this year's NHD season. The theme was Leadership and Legacy. Being passionate about food, specifically pure food, I made my project about the man who created the first laws to regulate food and ensure the public was safe from food adulteration. My project (a website) was "Leading the Pure Foods Movement: Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley and His Legacy of Food and Drug Safety." After making it through both the regional and state competitions I finally advanced to the National tournament at DC during the last week of school. At first I was skeptical about missing Hershey Park, Salute (8th grade graduation), 8th grade awards and the Picnic for a history competition but now I see it was worth it.
Competing against the best of the best, receiving comments from experienced judges, answering questions about my topic and watching the presentations and projects of others inspired me. Competing was only a part of the experience. There were so many other things that came along with it. I visited the FDA and CSPI, two organizations with people who I had interviewed for my project. The highlight of my trip was when I went to the FDA and was allowed to sit at the desk and in the chair of Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley, the person who my project was about, as well as when we took a selfie with Senator Cory Booker (one of NJ's senators).
NHD has taught me so many skills, like how to answer questions in a concise yet forceful way, how to interview people, how to send good emails and how to explore and express my passion.
The effort I put in, people I visited, places I saw and projects I watched all helped me understand that National History Day is more than a day.
It is an experience.
