Nimitz High School History Fair Students Win 1st, 2nd Place at National Competition

Brent Vela

Six students from Nimitz High School made their own history. The Cougars brought home first and second place wins for their student projects. [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]National History Day took place June 14-18 at the University of Maryland.

Nimitz High School has a strong program. In [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]2013, four campus projects placed at the national contest. Brent Vela and his fellow teammates placed 10th that year with their group project. That same year, [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Johana Mata placed fourth in Senior Historical Paper. Her project “The War, the Weapon, the Crisis: 1973 Oil Embargo” also earned the Outstanding State Entry Award. In 2012, [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Aric Barnes won third place in Individual Senior Documentary for his project “A Long-Awaited Revolution.” Aric also placed fourth at the national contest in 2011.

Brent kept vying for the top win. In 2014, Brent placed fourth in the Senior Individual Documentary with his project [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]”Stealing Home: Los Desterrados and the Battle for the Ravine.” He also earned the Outstanding State Entry Award. After placing 10th and fourth in recent years, Brent finally achieved his goal. He won first place in the Senior Individual Documentary Category.

Natalie Garza, Makayla Jefferson, Sayfaldin Thabit, Billy Toledo & Gabriel Guzmán

Makayla Jefferson, Gabriel Guzmán, Sayfaldin Thabit, Billy Toledo and Natalie Garza also shined. The team won second place in the Senior Group Website with their project “Wild Bill Donovan: Leader of American Espionage.”

The students advanced to National History Day after earning first and second place wins at the [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Texas History Day event in May. AISD had 21 students and six projects go to nationals this year.

2015 National History Day AISD Winners

1st Place Senior Individual Documentary
Project: “Heal the Man, Heal the Land: Roosevelt’s Legacy Through the Civilian Conservation Corps”
Student: Brent Vela
Campus: Nimitz High School
Sponsor: Barbi Binnig

2nd Place in Senior Group Website
Project: “Wild Bill Donovan: Leader of American Espionage”
Students: Makayla Jefferson, Gabriel Guzmán, Sayfaldin Thabit, Billy Toledo & Natalie Garza
Campus: Nimitz High School
Sponsor: Barbi Binnig

Congratulations!