Rick Beyer was delighted to interview a few of the National History Day (NHD) 2025 National Contest winners on the Sunday, July 27, episode of History Happy Hour. He also talked with NHD Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn about the future of this important institution, which has lost its federal funding. Co-host Chris Anderson, who was wrapping up the Band of Brothers® Tour, joined the discussion later in the episode.
Since 1974, National History Day has been inspiring students—whether public, private, parochial, charter, or homeschool—to study history. The nonprofit organization reaches over 500,000 students per year as it works to improve the teaching and learning of history in schools.
For more than 50 years, NHD has invited high school and middle school students to create an innovative project around an annual historical theme for the nationwide National History Day Contest. This year half a million students across America took part. The 2025 theme was Rights and Responsibilities in History.
This year’s NHD National Contest winners included:
Alekha Goldberg, Junior Individual Exhibit, First Place
Affiliate: California
Project title: “Returning Blue Lake: The Confluence of Rights, Responsibilities and Social Justice”
Corrado Naples, Yianni Gountis, Nathan Thomas; Junior Group Performance; Second Place
Affiliate: Ohio
Project title: Pieces of the Parthenon: How the Elgin Marbles Carved Controversy Between the Rights and Responsibilities of Cultural Artifacts
Paige Timpe, Junior Individual Website, Second Place
Affiliate: Illinois
Project title: Calling the Shots: Rights, Responsibilities, and Public Health
If you love history (and we know you do!) you will want to watch this very inspiring episode of History Happy Hour.
About National History Day (NHD)
NHD is a non-profit organization based in College Park, Maryland, that seeks to improve the teaching and learning of history. The National History Day Contest was established in 1974 and currently engages more than half a million students every year in conducting original research on historical topics of interest. Students present their research as a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. Projects compete first at the local and affiliate levels, where the top entries are invited to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park. NHD is sponsored in part by the 400 Years of African American History Commission, The Better Angels Society, the Bezos Family Foundation, the Joyful Noise Charitable Foundation, the Behring Global Educational Foundation, and the National Park Service.
Please read Rick Beyer’s letter about his involvement with NHD through the Ghost Army Legacy Foundation and consider donating to this vital educational organization.
