South Greene High School student Reese Ottinger placed third with her Senior Individual Website The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: The Geographical Frontier of Everest at East Tennessee History Day (ETHD) held on Tuesday, February 28 at the Student Union on the University of Tennessee campus. This year’s event featured 146 students and 89 projects. Grades six-twelve participated at the regional level from 14 public, private, and home schools in five counties.
First and second place winners, with third place winners serving as alternates, will advance to the state competition, Tennessee History Day sponsored by the Tennessee Historical Society, on April 15, 2023. From there, state winners will advance to nationals in College Park, Maryland in June 2023. Regional competition co-sponsors, the East Tennessee Historical Society (ETHS) and the University of Tennessee’s Department of History, congratulate and commend these students and their teachers on their hard work and success.
“We are very proud of our East Tennessee students,” says Lisa Oakley, ETHS Vice President and Curator of Education. “Our region consistently advances strong projects to the state and national contests. In fact, four ETHD projects have placed first in the nation in previous years, plus several placing second and third and many more finishing in the national top twelve for their categories.”
Traditionally around 5,000 students compete at the school level in the East Tennessee Region. An estimated 750,000 students nationally compete in their schools.
About National History Day:
National History Day is a leading program for history education. This year’s annual theme is “Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas.” Students select a topic related to the theme and then choose to present their research via a website, documentary, paper, exhibit or performance. Through research and interpreting their findings into a sound argument, these middle and high school students learn the priceless skills of an historian—critical thinking, research, and the value of primary sources.
About the East Tennessee Historical Society:
Established in 1834, the East Tennessee Historical Society is widely acknowledged as one of the most active history organizations in the state and enjoys a national reputation for excellence in programming and education.