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Here are the winners from the 2025 Vermont History Day!

April 12, 2025

9 min

The Vermont Historical Society is pleased to present the winners of the 2025 Vermont History Day competition, which was held on April 5th at Saint Michael's College in Colchester. With more than 350 student entries from around the state, this was our biggest year yet!

Vermont History Day is an annual educational competition for middle and high school-aged students from around the state, who research, write, design and build a project about a historical topic, and gather to present their work for the chance to win prizes and compete at the National History Day contest. National History Day (NHD) turns 50 this year, and poses an annual theme to challenge students to frame and explore some aspect of a historical topic. This year’s theme was titled “Rights & Responsibilities in History.”

The winners of this year's awards presented projects that covered everything from notable figures to events to movements across papers, performances, websites, documentaries, and exhibits. The top two winners in each category qualify to participate in the National History Day competition, which will be held between June 8th and 12th at University of Maryland College Park. Students will also earn prizes in a range of special categories sponsored by a variety of local organizations and individuals.

Here are this year's winners:

Category Award Winners

Junior Division

Junior Paper

First Place: "The Case of Mendez v. Westminster: How it Changed School Segregation and Civil Rights for Children of Mexican Descent," Aitana Seville, Green Mountain Union High School, Cavendish
Second Place: "Act 250, Freedom, and Unity: Rights of the Landowners vs. Responsibilities of the State," Abraham Rosenberg, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier

Junior Individual Website

First Place: "Censorship The Pentagon Papers: A Test of the Rights and Responsibilities of a Free Press," Micah Jacobson, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier
Second Place: "The Formation of the National Parks System," Simon Eikenberry, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier

Junior Group Website

First Place: "The Red Revolution," Braeden Schuren Burns, Samuel Soria, William Curtis, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier
Second Place: "Seneca Falls Convention," Eilidh Corbett, Ruthie Noyes, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier

Junior Individual Performance

First Place: "Dmitri Shostakovich: Creativity Amidst Conflict," Case Phinney, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier
Second Place: "Hollywood Blacklist the performance," Ezra Blum, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier

Junior Group Performance

First Place: "Jane Addams: Advocate for all, Heroine in Action," Celia Celia McCormick, Mattea McCormick, Christ the King School, Hinesburg
Second Place: "The Homestead Strike of 1892: Labor rights and the responsibilities of factory owners," Ashlyn Forsyth, Esme Beaudry, Petra Bay-Hansen, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier

Junior Individual Documentary

First Place: "Rights and Responsibilities of the International Whaling Commission and the Moratorium of 1982: saving a species from extinction," Lauren Richardson, Lyndon Town School, Lyndonville
Second Place: "Rules and Regulations of the Internet," Mattia Ancel, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier

Junior Group Documentary

First Place: "Alice Paul: A Powerful Voice for Women's Rights," Eden Kelly, Natalie Flannery, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier
Second Place: "Ancient Babylon: How Hammurabi and Cyrus the Great Defined Rights for the Ancient World," Liam Moore, Otis Taylor, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier
Third Place: "Horace Greeley and the Slavery Question: The Responsibility to Influence President Lincoln," Abigail Rose, Emma Boyer, Poultney High School, Poultney

Junior Individual Exhibit

First Place: "The Downfall of the Guillotine," Izik Currier, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier
Second Place: "The Rights and Responsibilities of Hunting in Vermont," Corbin Kieslich, Christ the King School, Jericho
Third Place: "The Right to Security is the Path Towards Responsibility: Royal Canadian Navy Against the U-boat in Western Atlantic Waters During World War One," Vasiliy Synkov, Homeschool, Roxbury

Junior Group Exhibit

First Place: "Roe v. Wade Throughout History," Adela Johns, Lila McLernon, Main Street Middle School, Roxbury
Second Place: "VT Yankee, Emmett Hock," Kiersten Briggs Campbell, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier
Third Place: "Injustices Against Women in Iran," Eli Morrill, Keegan Lisko, Addison Northwest Supervisory District, Addison

Senior Division

Senior Paper

First Place: "'The Natural Rights of Human Nature': How the Vermont Constitution and Responsibility Vermont felt for Gay Couples led to Marriage Access for All," Jing Williams, Addison Northwest Supervisory District, Vergennes
Second Place: "The Right to Read: The First Amendment and Book Banning in Vermont Schools," Quincy Sabick, Addison Northwest Supervisory District, Vergennes

Senior Individual Website

First Place: "The Era of Yellow Journalism: How Far Should the Media be able to go?" Elise O'Brien, Union 32, Montpelier
Second Place: "History Heritage: How the Green Mountain State Highlights a Nation Wide Discussion of Identity and Culture," Georgia Kunkel, Addison Northwest Supervisory District, Vergennes

Senior Group Website

First Place: "The Keating-Owen Act of 1916: A Responsible Government's Attempt to Protect Children's Rights in the Workplace," Asher Phillips, Ayush Kyasa, Ricky Ni, Teo Charlebois, Tiger Jia
Second Place: "Understanding the Power of Fashion," Baylie Paul, Eleanor Wallace-Brodeur, Ella MacCormack, Josie Stude

Senior Individual Performance

First Place: "Henry Knox: Taking A Stand for Freedom," McKinley Keaffaber, Mount Anthony Union High School, Bennington
Second Place: "The Oracle and The Pontiff: Religious Responsibilities," Vivien Liversedge, South Burlington High School, South Hero

Senior Group Performance

First Place: "Black Swan: How One Brave Dancer Changed Ballet Forever," Abigail Lynch, Cedric Minier. Jasper McGibney, South Burlington High School, South Burlington

Senior Individual Documentary

First Place: "The Right to Suffer - The 1963 Birmingham Children's Marches," Samara Davis, Union 32, Marshfield
Second Place: "Conscientious Objectors in the Vietnam War: Personal Beliefs and Rights v. Legal Responsibilities," Asa Rosenberg, Montpelier High School, Montpelier
Third Place: Broken Rights: Aleut Relocation during World War II, Taylor Smith, Homeschool, Reading

Senior Group Documentary

First Place: "Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness: Stories Under Dictatorship," Delilah Wade, Jacquelyn Van Gilder-Nellis, Laura Marcu, South Burlington High School, South Burlington
Second Place: "Equal Rights Amendment : Where Are We Now?" Ace McCarthy-beam, Jumana Nsour, South Burlington High School, South Burlington

Senior Individual Exhibit

First Place: "From Refugee to Resident," Peter Lyon, South Burlington High School, South Burlington
Second Place: "Mary Katherine Goddard: A Printer, Post-Mistress, and Citizen’s Declaration Against Oppression," Ada Allen, Craftsbury Academy, Craftsbury Common
Third Place: "Women and World War Two: Few Rights but Many Responsibilities," Charlotte Coffey, Addison Northwest Supervisory District, Vergennes

Senior Group Exhibit

First Place: "Radium Girls," Chloe Duell, Emijoi Kukatla, South Burlington High School, South Burlington
Second Place: "The Building of The Berlin Wall: Deconstruction of Rights, Madison Madison Atwood," Willoughby Mikus, Union 32, Northfield

Special Awards

Arts and Medicine Prize, sponsored by Brenda and Stephen Perkins

Junior Group Documentary "Margaret Sanger: The Mother of Birth Control," Lia Tarrant, Lydia Bearsch, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier

Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation History Prize, sponsored by Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation

Senior Individual Documentary "Broken Rights: Aleut Relocation during World War II," Taylor Smith, Homeschool, Reading

Freedom and Unity Civics Prize, sponsored by The Friends of the Vermont State House

Junior : Group Documentary "Medicaid; Right or Responsibility," Skyler Barnard, Teddy Fournier, Will Duggan, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier
Senior: Individual Website "History Heritage: How the Green Mountain State Highlights a Nation Wide Discussion of Identity and Culture," Georgia Kunkel, Addison Northwest Supervisory, Vergennes

George F. Edmunds Memorial Prize, sponsored by Vermont Historical Society through the George F. Edmunds Fund

Junior

First Place: Junior Group Website "The Robinsons of Rokeby," Astrid Kim, Elin Benoit, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier
Second Place, Junior Paper "Act 250, Freedom, and Unity: Rights of the Landowners vs. Responsibilities of the State," Abraham Rosenberg, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier

Senior

First Place: Senior Paper "'The Natural Rights of Human Nature': How the Vermont Constitution and Responsibility Vermont felt for Gay Couples led to Marriage Access for All," Jing Williams, Addison Northwest Supervisory, Vergennes
Second Place: Senior Paper "The Right to Read: The First Amendment and Book Banning in Vermont Schools," Quincy Sabick, Addison Northwest Supervisory, Vergennes

Horace Greeley Foundation American Freedom Award, sponsored by The Horace Greeley Foundation

Junior Individual Exhibit "John Peter Zenger's Trial: Paving The Way For The Rights Of Freedom Of The Press And Speech And The Failures To Uphold Responsibilities They Entail In Modern-Day," Xavier Giulianelli, Christ the King School, Burlington

International Studies Award, sponsored by Terry Buehner

Junior

First Place: Junior Individual Performance "Marquis de Lafayette: Responsibilities to the Revolution and the Rights for Man," Natalie Leonard, Lyndon Town School, Lyndonville
Second Place: Junior Paper "Armenian Genocide," Salvador Doyle, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier

Senior

First Place: Individual Website "Jesse Owens at the 1936 Berlin Olympics," Cole Page, Union 32, Montpelier
Second Place: Group Exhibit "The Building of The Berlin Wall: Deconstruction of Rights," Madison Atwood, Willoughby Mikus, Union 32, Montpelier

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History Award, sponsored by Vermont LGBTQ History Project

Senior Individual Exhibit "Stigma, Suffering, and Systematic Neglect : How The Reagan Administration Eroded The Civil Rights Of AIDS Patients," Amelia Cornelius, Lyndon Institute, Lyndonville

Lost Mural and Little Jerusalem Prize, sponsored by The Lost Mural Project

Junior: Paper "The Case of Mendez v. Westminster: How it Changed School Segregation and Civil Rights for Children of Mexican Descent,"
Aitana Seville, Green Mountain Union High School, Cavendish
Senior: Group Documentary "Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness: Stories Under Dictatorship," Delilah Wade, Jacquelyn Van Gilder-Nellis, Laura Marcu, South Burlington High School, South Burlington

Military History Prize, sponsored by Norwich University

Senior Group Website "Navajo Code Talkers: Fighting for America," Gretchen Edwards, Leela Sides, Mia Konefal, South Burlington High School, South Burlington

Mollie Beattie Memorial Environmental Prize, sponsored in Memory Of Mollie Beattie

Junior Individual Documentary "Rights and Responsibilities of the International Whaling Commission and the Moratorium of 1982: saving a species from extinction," Lauren Richardson, Lyndon Town School, Lyndonville

Truth and Reconciliation Award, sponsored by Vermont Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Junior Group Documentary "How The Black Panther Party Changed America," Greta Sargent, Valerie Hlivkova, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier

Vermont History Award, sponsored by the Vermont Historical Society

Junior: Paper "Miss Ross' Girls: The Riverside Women's Reformatory," Alice Brown, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier
Senior: Individual Documentary "Home Sweet Home: COTS Journey to Fight Homelessness in Vermont," Sophia Johnson, Addison Northwest Supervisory, Vergennes

Vermont State Archives Award for Outstanding Use of Primary Sources, sponsored by Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, Secretary of State

First Place: Senior Individual Website The Moral Dilemmas of the Stanford Prison Experiment, Elsie Koger, Union 32, Montpelier
Second Place: Junior Individual Exhibit "Edwin Horton’s Letters: A Civil War Soldier’s Legacy from Chittenden, Vermont," Emery Hummel, Barstow Elementary, Barstow

Women’s History Award, sponsored by Patricia Passmore Alley In Memory Of Helen Vrooman Passmore

Junior Group Exhibit "Roe v. Wade Throughout History," Adela Johns, Lila McLernon, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier

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