Ellie Durgarian (left) with teacher Beth Doughty.
Chief Umtuch 8th grade Ellie Durgarian is headed to a national competition for National History Day after a website she built placed in state.
National History Day is a program that encourages students to become historians by developing research, analysis, presentation and social skills. Students work individually or in groups to conduct extensive research on a topic. This year the theme was “Tragedy and Triumph Throughout History.”
Durgarian’s website explores the “The Glowing Dark History of the Hanford Nuclear Site.”
Only the top two finishers in each category advance to the national finals and since Durgarian placed first, she will be competing June 9-13 at the University of Maryland in College Park, just outside Washington D.C.
“I find it exasperating that there isn’t more public outrage about what’s happened at Hanford,” Durgarian said in a press release. “By not properly cleaning up the site, the government is failing those who have suffered the worst consequences and public trust has been betrayed repeatedly. In order to have a healthy democracy, people must stay informed, and nothing is going to change unless the public becomes more educated and involved.”
Durgarian is thrilled to be headed to the nation’s capital with members of her family and Mrs. Doughty.
“I am so incredibly proud of Ellie’s accomplishments,” said Chief Umtuch history teacher Beth Doughty. “Ellie is tremendously passionate and cares deeply about those affected by the situation at Hanford, and she is more than deserving of this recognition.”
Other finishers
Along with Durgarian’s first place, several other local students placed and were the recipients of special awards this year:
Pleasant Valley Middle School eighth-grader Reagan Lund placed fourth in the state in the Individual Website category for his “Battleships at Pearl Harbor: From Tragedy to Triumph” project. Reagan also won the National Maritime Historical Society Award for this project.
Pleasant Valley Middle School eighth-grader Rachael Wyman received the State Archivist’s Award for her project, “The Centralia Massacre.”
Pleasant Valley Middle School eighth-graders Hunter Dang and Anthony Huynh were the recipients of the Chinese or Chinese American History Award for their project, “Vietnam War: The 1968 Tet Offensive.”
Pleasant Valley Middle School eighth-grader Jasdeep Atwal won the Preservation of Archaeological and Historic Properties in Washington State Award for her “Celilo Falls: a Two-Sided Coin, a Triumph and Tragedy” project.
Chief Umtuch seventh graders Riley Elwess and Sora Tolley received the Ruth Kagi Award for their “Cherokee Trail of Tears” project.
