8 Broadneck Students Awarded for History Projects

Many people still remember the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union like it was yesterday but to students in middle and high school, the decades-long conflict that ended years before they were born is nothing but history.

Miranda Forbes and Stryker Parlett, eighth-graders at Central Middle School in Edgewater, were two of more than 50 students honored Thursday night at Old Mill High School for their National History Day projects. Of the 50, eight students came from Broadneck-area schools.

Forbes' and Parlett's projects focused on the Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellites, during the Cold War space race.

"It was really interesting to see just how just much the Soviet Union had accomplished," Stryker said.

"We [Americans] always think that we are quite the superpower of the world," Miranda added. "But really, during the space race, we were challenged a lot by the Soviet Union technologically."

Miranda and Stryker were just two of more than 500,000 students across the country who created projects for National History Day. The national competition is held annually at the University of Maryland at College Park in June.

The following regional first- and second-place winners from Broadneck-area schools will go onto the state competition on April 27 at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Group Exhibit, 1st Place—Maura Campbell, Broadneck High School (Becoming Fairytales)

Individual Exhibit, 2nd Place—Jenny McCarthy, Magothy River Middle School (Shock Wave: Dawn of the Atomic Age)

Individual Exhibit—Emily Sokolowski, Magothy River Middle School (Charlie Chaplin:  A Slapstick King) *Advanced Studies & Programs Award

Individual Exhibit—Cameron Terrelonge, Magothy River Middle School (How Punk Rock Music Changed Society) *Advanced Studies & Programs Award

Historical Paper—Philip Brooks, Severn River Middle School (The Effects of 9-11 on Airport Security) *BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport Award

Individual Website—Caroline Parson, Broadneck High School (Sputnik:  The Satellite that Changed the World) *BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport Award

Group Exhibit—Riley Yanchulis, Broadneck High School (September 11th) *BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport Award

Group Exhibit—Ryan Keller, Magothy River Middle School (Titanic:  How it Transformed the Construction of Mega-Ships) *Judges' Award for Outstanding Presentation

Broadneck Patch editor D. Frank Smith contributed to this article.