OGDEN — Two Saint Joseph Catholic school students were selected from a handful of students statewide to speak before a State Senate subcommittee to express why permanent funding for a Utah State History Day program is important to their education.
Tatiana Chudy, a ninth-grader at Saint Joseph Catholic High School; and Natasha Pagel-Aprill, an eighth-grader at Saint Joseph Elementary School, spoke to the Senate Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee Feb. 10 on H.B. 64, which is now waiting to be read on the Senate floor.
House of Representative Jack R. Draxler is sponsoring H.B. 64, which would put the Utah History Day program under the Utah Education Department and provide annual funding for the event.
Speaking in front of the Senate was both scary and exciting, the students said.
"I told the Senate that the History Fair was a great experience and that it helps students develop important skills in research and public speaking," said Pagel-Aprill. "I hope they pass the bill so we can continue to have the History Fair through high school; history is my favorite subject."
Chudy agreed the research skills help her in other classes, she said.
The Utah History Fair began in 1980 through the Utah Humanities Council and was later taken over by Utah State University. The last state History Fair was held in 2012. The Utah History Day program is affiliated with National History Day, which includes a series of regional, state and national activities and competitions for students in fourth through 12th grade.
Both Chudy and Pagel-Aprill have participated in past history fairs; they begin at the school level. Heidi Chudy, Tatiana Chudy’s mother, is a parent volunteer at St. Joseph Elementary School who teaches history once a week as an exploratory class. She began the history course in 2009 because she loves history and "it’s a good way to expose the students to a deeper sense of history and at the same time teach them organizational, research, English and creativity skills, and how to interpret history," she said. "It also improves their speaking skills as they prepare to talk to the judges about their projects. I hope the bill passes because history is so important in the students’ lives."
Pagel-Aprill participated in the 2012 state history fair after being selected to go on to the regional fair.
The Utah State History Fair is the affiliate for the State of Utah of the National History Day Program and it is "an educational enrichment program that teachers can implement in their classrooms," said Wendy Rex-Atzet, Utah History Fair director. "Each year a topic is selected for the students to research that is related to an annual theme. The students learn to do historical research beyond the Internet to archives. They then analyze the evidence they’ve gathered, make an argument as to why their topic is significant in history, what its causes and effects are, which helps them move to the next level of critical thinking."
The program is not mandatory, but there is good participation throughout the state, said Rex-Atzet. Nine regional contests will be held to qualify students for the State History Fair at Thanksgiving Point April 23. The state winners will go on to compete at National History Day, held at the University of Maryland in June.
"There are nine different categories the students can enter and the top two winners in each category will go to the national contest," said Rex-Atzet. "This year’s theme is ‘Rights and Responsibilities in History.’ It is so important for them to study this more in depth than just their textbooks."
Stay Connected With Us