New City student places second in national academic contest

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Mona Tong of New City, New York won second place in the Senior Individual Website category at the national finals for the National History Day® Contest. Tong, a 11th grade student at Clarkstown North High School, captivated judges with a project titled, Theodore Roosevelt: The Conservation Crusader for Future Generations and was presented with this prestigious honor on June 15, 2017, the day celebrated as #NationalHistoryDay.

More than half a million students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and international schools in China, Korea, and South Asia competed in the 2017 National History Day® Contest. Middle and high school students around the world created documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances, and websites based on the theme, Taking a Stand in History.  The top entries from each state/affiliate contest were invited to the National Contest held at the University of Maryland, College Park on June 11-15, 2017. 

“The National History Day Contest requires intensive research and analytical thinking skills,” said National History Day Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn. “Each student involved in the competition spends countless hours researching, writing, and editing. Only the top projects make it to the National Contest and it requires a truly superb entry to receive second place. This is an incredible accomplishment for Mona Tong.”

Founded in 1974, at Case Western Reserve University, National History Day® has grown from a contest of a few hundred students to a multi-national educational organization dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of history. Students around the world, guided by more than 30,000 teachers, utilize the project-based learning framework that is central to the National History Day® Contest.

This fall, students around the world will begin creating entries for the 2018 contest under the theme, Conflict and Compromise in History. For more information on the contest and how to enter, visit nhd.org/contest.

  national history day, National History Day® Contest, new city