Students become judges for National History Day Iowa

Faculty in Iowa State University’s Department of History have a long-standing tradition of participating as judges in the National History Day in Iowa competition, but this year was the first time that Iowa State history students joined their ranks.

This past April, Emma Buttery (’26 history), Johnathan Calsbeek (’27 history), and Thomas Profit (’26 history), took part as judges in the competition, held in the Scheman Building on Iowa State’s campus. Also participating as a judge was Stephanie Ellsworth (’27 history) and Reagan Purvis (’27 history).

Competition participants are middle school and high school students. Ethan Atwell, program coordinator at the State Historical Society of Iowa, stressed the importance of having Iowa State history students serve as judges for younger students.

“For the participants to interact with Iowa State students, with another young person, shows that history is not relegated to dusty old tomes,” Atwell said. “It’s meant for everyone, and that youth and people of all ages have influenced history.”

What is National History Day?

National History Day started in 1974 at Case Western University and has grown from 129 students to over half a million students participating every year. The Iowa program was launched in 1979 by Clair Keller, an emeritus professor of history and emeritus professor of education at Iowa State. The State Historical Society of Iowa began administering the program in 1994.

This year, through nine regional competitions held across Iowa, from Orange City to Davenport, approximately 2,000 students from grades six through12 presented their projects under the theme “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History.” The winners of those competitions then advanced on to the state finals held at Iowa State.

Judging at the competition

Participating students can choose from a variety of ways to present their research for the National History Day Competition, such as writing a paper, staging a performance, building a website, or filming a documentary. They then share their research with the judging panel during an interview session.

The student judges were impressed by the breadth of projects and the depth of the middle and high school students’ research. For Buttery, the consistently high level of scholarship made it difficult to choose a winner out of so many outstanding projects.

“You could tell they had spent a lot of time researching and writing,” Buttery said. “And many of them chose topics they were genuinely passionate about.”

Profit judged students in two categories – middle school documentaries in the morning and high school websites in the afternoon.

“I really enjoyed a great film about the history of aircraft carriers and their role in changing warfare,” Profit said. “My favorite website was about how the transcontinental railroad accelerated and changed how Americans expanded westward.

“It was neat to see students pull from a variety of sources to form their argument,” Profit added.

Calsbeek, who was a website judge in the junior division – middle school students, noticed a variety of historical subjects and was impressed to see students expand beyond topics in U.S. history.

“It was encouraging to see students decide what fit the theme of revolution, reaction, and reform in history,” Calsbeek said. “In every interview, the passion those students put into their projects was evident. None of the teams lacked in knowledge about their topic, and several brought personal experiences and backgrounds that clearly backed up the intense research they conducted.”

Buttery judged papers in the junior division and she loved seeing how much effort the students put into their projects.

“It reminded me that students are capable of producing impressive historical work when they are given the opportunity to explore topics that interest them,” she said.

“It was a rewarding experience,” Buttery added. “It’s reinforced why I want to become a history teacher.”

Inspiration, excellence, and joy

Calsbeek said he could feel the students’ enthusiasm, and he took pride in helping them continue their initiatives in historical research.

“I cannot recommend this experience enough for potential future competitors or judges,” Calsbeek said. “Events such as this provide excellent opportunities to foster a new era of passion for history. With the help of volunteer judges, it can continue to be an event of excellence and joy.”