SD is proud to announce that sophomores Mazalit G. ’27 and Jennie T. ’27 have achieved stellar success at the recent California State Finals for National History Day (NHD) in Sacramento. The talented duo not only earned Blue Ribbon Finalist recognition in the Senior Division Website category, but also received the prestigious California Foundation for History Education’s Social Justice in History Award. National History Day in California is a co-curricular program, open to students in grades 4 - 12,  engaging them in historical inquiry and analysis on a topic of their choice, and asking them to create their history day project based on this research.

“This is the furthest SD has ever made it in the competition,” remarks History Teacher Madison Williams. “And the Social Justice award takes it over the top! This special recognition extends beyond their website category, considering the work of hundreds of students across the entire competition.”

Competing under this year’s theme of “Rights and Responsibilities,” Mazalit and Jennie created their award-winning project titled Consequences of Controlling Substances: The War on Drugs and its Contradiction of the Constitution. Their research examined how the War on Drugs, while ostensibly implemented to fulfill the government’s responsibility to protect public health, ultimately violated the rights of many people of color through targeted legislation.

“After seven long months of hard work, this was an extremely exciting outcome,” shares one of the students. Their dedication to the project was evident in their comprehensive research, which culminated in a 22-page annotated bibliography. The team faced additional challenges navigating NHD’s specific criteria for website presentation while effectively building their narrative.

What makes their achievement even more remarkable is the exceptional level of scholarly rigor demonstrated at such a young age. “It is not common for younger high school students to advance this far in the competition, which requires extensive advanced research skills, so we are especially pleased and honored,” notes Williams.

Congratulations to Mazalit and Jennie on this outstanding accomplishment! The entire SD community celebrates your success and dedication to important historical research.