Picuted (L-R)–Kylie Janning, Sophia Tidgren, Khushi Patel, and Aliya Reed following their first-place finish at the regional conference in Pella.
A Carroll High School (CHS) team has qualified for the National History Day competition after taking first place at the state contest last month. National History Day began in 1974 to inspire a love for history in students and has grown into one of the nation’s most popular history-centric events. The theme for this year’s entries was “Rights & Responsibilities in History,” and the first-place CHS team included Kylie Janning, Khushi Patel, Aliya Reed, and Sophia Tidgren, coached by Steven Bieret. Tidgren says their presentation examined women’s impact during the Industrial Revolution.
Janning says they spent weeks preparing and practicing their entry, which all paid off at the state contest on Iowa State University’s campus in April
Reed adds it was initially a bit of a challenge to decide on a specific topic with a theme as broad as “Rights & Responsibilities,” but they took a section from another class and opted to expand on it.
Patel says she and the others were surprised by all they learned in their research.
Bieret says the team is now qualified to compete this summer at the national contest in College Park, Md., a Washington, D.C. suburb, following their first-place finish at state.
Three of the groups’ members, Tidgren, Janning, and Reed, previously qualified for the National History Day contest in Maryland in 2023 for their presentation on the discovery of insulin and the resultant revolution in diabetes treatment.
