Two students from Lee County schools placed first in their respective categories in the 2023 Florida History Day contest.
Elsee Cribbs from Bonita Springs Middle School and Jaya Parsa of Fort Myers High School won their specific categories. The top two winners of each category are invited to represent Florida at the National History Day contest in June.
Secretary of State Cord Byrd announced the winners of the annual contest administered by the Museum of Florida History on Wednesday. This year’s state contest was held at Tallahassee Community College on May 8 with the top student entries from 32 Florida counties participating.
“I want to congratulate this year’s Florida History Day winners, as well as all of the students who participated, and the teachers who supported them,” said Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd. “I had the opportunity to see some of the projects and I was impressed by the students’ thorough research, creativity, and hard work.”
At this year’s state competition 847 middle and high school students presented award-winning research in a variety of media including documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances, and websites.
A listing of statewide winners by award category is available on the Florida History Day website.
Junior Individual Performance: 1st place, Elsee Cribbs. The Frontier of Medicine: How the Groundbreaking Theories, Discoveries, and Techniques Used During the Civil War Changed the World, Bonita Springs Middle Center for the Arts (Lee). Teacher: Charndra Carias
Senior Individual Performance: 1st place, Jaya Parsa, Hedy Lamarr: A Frontier in Hollywood and Technology, Fort Myers High School (Lee), Teacher: Debra Dailidonis
Sponsored by the Museum of Florida History, Florida History Day is an annual, statewide activity that enhances the teaching and learning of history at middle and high school. Florida joins 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and international schools in East and South Asia as an affiliate of National History Day® (NHD). NHD promotes history in the classroom by offering students the resources and support to do original research about people, ideas, and events of the past. The curriculum supports the project-based learning approach.
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