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A group of Mississippi students will participate in the National History Day Contest in College Park, Maryland, in June after winning at the state level at an event hosted by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. 

The Mississippi History Day (MHD) contest on April 10 drew middle and high school students to the Two Mississippi Museums, where they displayed projects on the theme of revolution, reaction, and reform in history.  

MHD is the state’s affiliate of National History Day, a cross-curriculum program focusing on in-depth research and critical analysis. 

Thirty-four students participated in the 2026 Mississippi History Day State Contest. Of those, 26 won first or second place to qualify for the National History Day Contest. Third-place winners act as alternates for qualifiers who are unable to attend the national contest held June 14-18, at the University of Maryland.  

The Mississippi students will join nearly 3,000 competitors from the United States, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Department of Defense schools in the Atlantic, China, and Korea for the national competition. 

2026 Mississippi History Day winners:

Senior Individual Exhibit

• First Place: Maggie Brown from Hernando High School
  • The Assassination of Julius Caesar: Causes and Consequences
• Second Place: Keylee Lang from Starkville High School
  • Striking the Match: The Matchgirl Strike of 1888
• Third Place: C. Gregg from the Youthful Offenders Unit
  • John R. Lynch and Reform in Reconstruction Era Politics

Junior Individual Exhibit

• First Place: Geneva Hicks from Hernando Middle School
  • Giving Them a Voice: Reforms in Animal Cruelty Laws for Horses

Senior Group Exhibit

• First Place: Allisha Guan and Sivmeng Nak from Hernando High School
  • A Tribute to the Homeland: How the Diaspora Changed Africa
• Second Place: Connor Daniels and Christopher Lightfoot from Hernando High School
  • Battle of Athens Tennessee

Senior Individual Website

• First Place: Coy Vanpelt from Hernando High School
  • The Engine That Changed Everything: How the Invention of the Steam Engine Became the Turning Point in Global Industry and Society

Junior Individual Website

• First Place: Aiden Rhee from Armstrong Middle School
  • The Railroad: An Influential Asset During the Civil War

Senior Group Website

• First Place: Shriyansh Dash and Kai Saikia from Starkville High School
  • Aiming for the Heart, Hitting the Stomach: How Upton Sinclair’s ‘The Jungle’ Raked Away a Century of Muck
• Second Place: Brendan Seo and Joseph Thompson from Starkville High School
  • Revolutionizing the Delta: The Story of the Greenwood Food Blockade

Junior Group Website

• First Place: Sian Lee and Peter Mun from Partnership Middle School
  • Alan Turing, a Genius That Arrived Too Early

Senior Individual Documentary

• First Place: Walter Giesen from Mississippi School for Math and Science
  • Woodrow Wilson and the Reinvention of American Foreign Policy
• Second Place: Ian Jung from Starkville High School
  • Battle of Blair Mountain: A Revolution in the Coal Mines

Senior Group Documentary

• First Place: Ojash Bhushan, Peter Buys, Divya Sai, and Saindhavi Shankar from Starkville High School
  • Revolution, Reaction, Reform: Louis Pasteur and Germ Theory
• Second Place: Jaida Denz and Jordyn Taylor from Mississippi School for Math and Science
  • When War Came Home to the Mind: Vietnam Veterans and the Fight to Acknowledge PTSD

Senior Paper

• First Place: Catherine Shao from Mississippi School for Math and Science
  • A Revolution Behind-the-Scenes: Manufacturing Outsourcing, Deregulation, and the Pathway to US-Led Economic Globalization in the Crisis-Ridden 1970s
• Second Place: Daniel Hu from Mississippi School for Math and Science
  • The Flames of Los Angeles
• Third Place: Heer Patel from Mississippi School for Math and Science
  • The Truth Behind the Partition

Junior Paper

• First Place: Madelyn Hudson from Simpson Central School
  • The Roots of Reform

Best Project in Medical History Award

• Sponsored by Dr. Jon and Candice Buchanan
  • Angelina Tan from Mississippi School for Math and Science
    • Manufacturing Doubt: The AMA, the Tobacco Industry, and the Politics of Public Health

Best Project in Oral History

• Sponsored by The University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage
  • Ian Jung from Starkville High School
    • Battle of Blair Mountain: A Revolution in the Coal Mines

Best Project in Black History

• Sponsored by The University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Black Studies
  • Brendan Seo and Joseph Thompson from Starkville High School
    • Revolutionizing the Delta: The Story of the Greenwood Food Blockade

Best Project in Archival History 

• Sponsored by the Society of Mississippi Archivists
• Presented by the Treasurer of the Society of Mississippi Archivists, Miranda Vaughn 
  • Walter Giesen from Mississippi School for Math and Science
    • Woodrow Wilson and the Reinvention of American Foreign Policy

Best Project in Military History

• Sponsored by The University of Southern Mississippi’s Dale Center for the Study of War and Society
  • Aiden Rhee from Armstrong Middle School
    • The Railroad: An Influential Asset During the Civil War

Best Project in Women and Gender History

• Sponsored by the University of Southern Mississippi’s Evelyn Gandy Center for Women and Leadership
  • Keylee Lang from Starkville High School
    • Striking the Match: The Matchgirl Strike of 1888

Best Project in Mississippi History 

• Sponsored by the Mississippi Historical Society
  • C. Gregg from the Youthful Offenders Unit
    • John R. Lynch and Reform in Reconstruction Era Politics

The Major Calvin Wu Best Project in Asian History

• Sponsored by the Hattiesburg Hall Alumni Association
  • Daniel Hu from Mississippi School for Math and Science
    • The Flames of Los Angeles

Best Project in Humanities History

• Sponsored by the Mississippi Humanities Council
  • Catherine Shao from Mississippi School for Math and Science
    • A Revolution Behind-the-Scenes: Manufacturing Outsourcing, Deregulation, and the Pathway to US-Led Economic Globalization in the Crisis-Ridden 1970s
  • Shriyansh Dash and Kai Saikia from Starkville High School
    • Aiming for the Heart, Hitting the Stomach: How Upton Sinclair’s ‘The Jungle’ Raked Away a Century of Muck

Best Project in Gulf South History

• Sponsored by the University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for the Study of the Gulf South
  • K. Smith from the Youthful Offenders Unit
    • Claudette Colvin: Revolution in Montgomery

Teacher of the Year Nominee

• Craig Wood from Starkville High School

NHD is a non-profit organization based in College Park, Maryland, which seeks to improve the teaching and learning of history. Established in 1974, the National History Day Contest engages more than half a million students every year in conducting original research on historical topics of interest. 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 HISTORY®, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Park Service, The Better Angels Society, and the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation.  

MDAH was founded in 1902 to collect, preserve, and provide access to the archival resources of the state. The commitment to preservation continues today through the work of the department’s five divisions. By preserving Mississippi’s diverse historic resources and sharing them with people around the world, MDAH inspires the discovery of stories that connect our lives and shape our future. 

For more information, call 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov.