Horry County Schools’ students and teacher shine at National History Day Competition

Five Horry County Schools’ middle school students and one high school teacher earned awards and recognition at the National History Day Competition June 25 at the University of Maryland. The competition had more than 2,900 students.

Four Conway Middle School students were among only 11 S.C. students who brought home top awards that showcased the works of students from the United States, American Samoa, Guam, China, Korea and South Asia. Throughout the Palmetto State, 58 students competed in the national event after having won first or second place in the state competition.

Twin sisters Caroline Todd and Erin Todd of Conway Middle won Most Outstanding Project on Civil Rights for “Septima Poinsette Clark: Equality Beyond the Blackboard.” Atley Livingston and Glenn Courtney of Conway Middle won Outstanding Junior Group Project for their website “Mary McLeod Bethune: Forever Fighting Educational Discrimination.” All four are students of Amy Porter.

Christoph Tagenhorst of Ocean Bay Middle School was invited to represent South Carolina at a special breakfast hosted by the National Endowment for the Humanities on Capitol Hill. Tagenhorst produced a documentary on William Moultrie, the 35th governor of South Carolina and a general in the American Revolution. Tagenhorst was joined by his teachers Marion Tousel and Billy Gainus.

Samantha Lohr DeCerbo of HCS’ Early College High School was named the Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year for South Carolina for her commitment to National History Day as a teaching strategy and for her creative teaching methods that interest students in history by helping them make exciting discoveries about the past.

For more information, visit www.nhd.org.

This story was originally published July 16, 2015 at 1:00 AM with the headline "Horry County Schools’ students and teacher shine at National History Day Competition."