Students win awards at National History Day

The Capital-Journal

Sjobor Hammer, a student at Topeka High School, received first place in the senior individual documentary at the National History Day ceremony Thursday at College Park, Md.

Hammer's documentary is titled "Bones of Contention: Battling for Human Dignity at the Salina Indian Burial Pit." She was presented a $5,000 prize, according to a news release from NHD.

Topeka Collegiate students Shelby Carpenter, Soren Lamb and Nyalia Lui received first place for junior group performance. Their performance is titled "Asa Philip Randolph, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Franklin Roosevelt: Conflict and Compromise in Negotiating Executive Order 8802," according to the NHD Web site.

NHD is a nonprofit educational program that presents an annual national history contest. Students present the findings of in-depth historical research in the form of documentaries, performances, exhibits, and papers and are judged by a panel of experts. More than half a million students nationwide participate in National History Day. The national finals then take place at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md.