AISD sending three individuals to National History Day Contest

Aldine ISD will be sending three individuals to the National History Day Contest, slated for June 15-19 at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland.

The three individual projects finished either first or second at the Texas History Day Contest.

Brent Vela, 1st place Individual Documentary

Nimitz High School student Brent Vela finished first in the Individual Documentary category. His project was titled, “Stealing Home.”

Alexis Speer, 1st place Individual Website

Nimitz High will also be represented at the national event by Alexis Speer, who placed first in the Individual Website category. Her project was titled, “Equal in the Eyes of God.”

Eduardo Castenada, 2nd place Individual Exhibit

A third Nimitz High student, Eduardo Castaneda, will also be heading to Maryland thanks to a second-place finish at the state level. He finished second in the Individual Exhibit with his project, “Colossus of the North.”

A number of other Aldine ISD history students also competed at the state event, both at the senior level and junior level.

In the senior level, the Nimitz Ninth Grade team of Kathryn Whitehead, Emily Quan, Geraldo Salazar, Mary Gonzales, and Karen Gallardo placed third in the Group Documentary category with their project, “Never, Again, Then Again: Silent Screams of Sudan.

The MacArthur High team of Hannah Guerrero, Zaira Lopez, Lourdes Rodriguez and Tamara Rangel placed third in the Group Exhibit with their project, “With Liberty and Justice For All?”

Branden Ventura of Nimitz High placed third in the Individual Performance category with his project, “Echoes of a Riot.”

MacArthur High student Luis Banda placed fourth in the Individual Exhibit category with his project, “Cold Feet, Heavy Burden: A Native American Injustice.” Banda earned honorable mention honors at state.

Kyisha Butcher of MacArthur High School placed sixth in the Historical Paper category with her project, “Crusading for Justice: Ida B. Wells and the Fight to End Lynching.”

The Nimitz Ninth Grade School team of Isaac Penilla, Brianna Garcia, Edith Hernandez and Bryan Lara placed seventh in the Group Performance category with their project, “La Vida de Rigoberta Menchu: A Fight for Indigenous Rights.”

Jenny Hwang of Aldine High School placed eighth in the Individual Performance category with her project, “Restricting the Rights of Parents: Family Planning in China.”

The Carver High School team of Erica Cheng, Christina Castro, Lauren Jones and Karen Perez finished eighth in the Group Documentary category with their project, “Mercy Killing or Killing Mercy.” They also received honorable mention at the state event.

The Nimitz High School team of Brian Tea, Brianna McCutchen, Kaden Brown and Wilson Perez finished ninth in the Group Website category with their project, “A Rebel for the Right to Know.”

In the junior level, the Lewis Middle School team of Maryam Memon and Bailey Henderson placed third in the Group Documentary with their project, “The Kindertransport: Into the Arms of Strangers.”

Brenda Garcia of Rayford Road Intermediate finished fourth in the Historical Paper category with her project, “Revolution within a Revolution: The Battle for the Right to Bear Arms.” She also earned honorable mention honors at the state event.

The Rayford Road Intermediate team of Ray Barrera, Isaac Huerta, Viviane Huara and Kealana Wolfe finished fourth in the Group Exhibit category with their project, “Ima Hogg: Advocate for People’s Rights, Responsible Philanthropist.” They also earned honorable mention honors.

The Rayford Road Intermediate team of Yazmin Coronado and Jasmine Iglesias placed sixth in the Group Documentary category with their project, “Death by Fire: The Deadliest Industrial Fire of 1911. They earned distinguished achievement honors at state.

The Shotwell Middle School team of Tyric Hardy, Frank Macias and Angeles Canales finished sixth in the Group Performance category with their project, “Dusting off the History Behind the Manhattan Project.” They also earned distinguished achievement honors at state.

The Shotwell Middle School team of Huan Tran, Javarhea Thompson, Emily Hernandez, Breanna Graves-Brown and Ada Argueta placed seventh in the Group Performance category with their project, “Pictures Worth More Than A Thousand Words.” They also earned distinguished achievement honors at state.

Hambrick Middle School student Denisse Cordova placed seventh in the Individual Website category with her project, “The Great Terror: The Suppressors of the Suppressed.” She also earned distinguished achievement honors at state.