Powell Middle School eighth-grader Emma Johnson placed first at the regional History Day competition, and then second at state. She qualified for the national competition, which will be held virtually in June.

Courtesy photo

A pandemic couldn’t sideline Powell Middle School students from participating in the state History Day competition.

Earlier this spring, around 70 Powell students participated in the regional competition in Greybull. It happened to be the week before schools closed down.

“Unfortunately, the state competition was moved to a virtual format because of the COVID situation,” said Amanda Johnston, sixth-grade social studies teacher.

Still, local students “had a great showing,” she said. More than 20 Powell students qualified for the state History Day competition, and five eighth-graders advanced to the finals.

“I am so proud of all of my students this year,” said Noelle Baker, eighth-grade social studies teacher. “They worked so hard and even after the difficulties with distance learning, they all pulled through and went the extra mile just to enter this contest at the state level.”

Baker said the change to a virtual format created some additional work for students and teachers, but she was “really impressed that my students worked so hard under difficult circumstances and we were able to persevere.”

The 2020 History Day theme is “Breaking Barriers in History.” Students selected a topic to research, and then could choose to write a paper, create a website, make an exhibit board, do a performance or create a documentary.

History Day gives students the opportunity to focus on an area of interest, said Amanda Johnston. She said the main purpose of History Day is to motivate students to do in-depth research.

“Students are encouraged to interview people, and delve into old newspapers, letters, journals, etc. to determine the accuracy of events,” Amanda Johnston said. “More importantly, students need to discover what impact their event/person had on the present day. They need to answer the question, why does my topic matter today?”

Emma Johnson created a documentary titled, “Jane Goodall — Man The Toolmaker: How an Untrained British Woman Broke the Barrier of Man’s Most Defining Characteristic.” Johnson earned second place at state and will advance to the National History Day. The national competition in College Park, Maryland, will also be virtual this year.

Sam Johnston received third place with his website, titled “Breaking Through to the Other Side: World War II Through the Eyes of a Wyoming Soldier.” Sam Johnston shared the story of his great-grandfather, Elmo Johnston.

“As an American soldier fighting overseas in Europe during World War II, Elmo Johnston overcame physical and emotional barriers of military combat,” he wrote on his website. “The Battle of the Bulge left Elmo wounded and he became a prisoner of war.”

Sam Johnston won the Colonial Dames Heritage Award, which includes a $100 cash prize. With his third place finish at the state competition, he is an alternate for the national competition.

Aramonie Brinkerhoff advanced to the finals round with her website, titled “Temple Grandin: Breaking the Barrier of Autism and Animal Science.” Brinkerhoff won the American West Experience & Historical Studies Award, which came with a $100 cash prize.

Kik Hayano also became a state finalist with her exhibit, titled “Black, White, and Blue: Breaking the Color Barrier One Beat at a Time.”

Marshall Lewis wrote a historical paper, titled “Conquering the Marathon; Running a Sub-Two Hour Marathon,” that advanced to the finals round at state.