歪歪漫画

DULUTH -- Two Duluth East High 歪歪漫画 students placed in the top 10 at , a national competition dedicated to history.

Erin Coleman is an upcoming senior; Natalie Miller is an upcoming junior. This was the first time either had made it to the national level of the competition, which made it even more impressive that out of more than 100 students nationwide, Miller took first place and Coleman took sixth place in the research paper category.

This was Coleman鈥檚 second time participating in National History Day. This year, she participated as an alternative to taking her final spring semester exam, which ended up being canceled due to distance learning. Coleman laughs about that now.

鈥淚t was rewarding considering how much hard work and time I put into this paper,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of what I did."

Every seventh-grader at Ordean East Middle 歪歪漫画 must participate in National History Day as a project for school. Miller said she enjoyed the project so much, she continued doing it on her own each year.

鈥淚 really had no expectation going into nationals,鈥� said Miller, who has participated in National History Day four years in a row. 鈥淚 still go to bed every night and think, 鈥榃ow, I can鈥檛 believe I won.鈥欌��

Miller also received $1,000 in prize money and a scholarship to use next year at the National History Academy, a five-week intensive summer academy in Washington, D.C. This is the first year she wrote a research paper, having entered exhibits previously.

鈥淚鈥檓 a strong writer, so I鈥檒l definitely continue doing research papers,鈥� she said.

The theme of this year鈥檚 National History Day was "breaking barriers." Miller鈥檚 title was, 鈥淭oo Strong for a Woman: How Bernice Sandler Created Title IX to Break Barriers for Female Faculty in Higher Education.鈥�

鈥淲hen most people hear about Title IX, they think about athletics,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淪o my topic kind of twisted Title IX from what people are usually used to it being, which really helped my paper to stand out at the national contest.鈥�

Coleman鈥檚 title was 鈥淏reaking Barriers in Public Health: John Snow and London鈥檚 1854 Cholera Epidemic,鈥� which focused on the doctor who wrote a study suggesting cholera was spread through contaminated water and not through the air, and his work to shift public opinion.

Coleman picked this topic in November before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.

鈥淚 did end up noticing a lot of similarities,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ne of the reasons I found that a lot of politicians and government officials didn鈥檛 support (Snow鈥檚) theory was because if cholera was spread by water, then that would mean they should quarantine ships coming from ports that had epidemics going on, which would be very unprofitable and unpopular.鈥�

After regionals and state competitions are held, two students from each of the five categories in each state move on to nationals, which typically means a trip to Washington, D.C. Because of COVID-19, the contest was moved online, and the awards ceremony was live-streamed on June 21.

鈥淚t鈥檚 incredibly hard to place at nationals,鈥� said Sue DeNio, who is a contract staff member at the Minnesota Historical Society and helps facilitate National History Day. 鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting to have them both place so high. It will change their life in many ways they don鈥檛 even know yet.鈥�

DeNio helps run National History Day in the Northland and worked with Coleman and Miller on their papers. She said placing nationally is an accomplishment that will open doors for the girls when listed on college and scholarship applications.

鈥淓very college in America knows how hard that is," she said, "and then to place in research papers shows these kids know how to do research; they know how to find quality sources; they know how to synthesize information and how to present it.鈥�