By: Sergio Lopez
History Day Club student Andrew Ramirez describes his day February 7th, advancing to State finals in April.
On February 7th, 2023, Tulare County’s National History Day took place, where kids from elementary through high school would compete against each other with research projects on a specific topic, with this year being Frontiers in History.
History Day Club is advised by Mr. Eskridge, going from right to left from the photo above, Tanner Narahara ‘26, Andrew Ramirez ‘26, and Iliana Covarrubias ‘24. From there, Ramirez advanced with his historical paper “Borax-III Nuclear Reactor, Its Journey to Powering the First Nuclear Town,” to the California History Day State Finals, being held April 15-16, 2023 at Sacramento State University.
With Ramirez’s success, he broke down his experience that day February 7th, when he triumphed at the County competition.
Starting the day early in the morning at 7:45 AM, competitors arrived at the Tulare County Office of Education Conference Center in Visalia, with the modernistic building combined with the morning air creating a feeling of nervousness for Ramirez.
Ramirez was currently a freshman, and although being new to Redwood, competition was anything new to him, having submitted projects and competed in his prior years in middle school.
There are different ways to present and create projects for History Day, ranging from creating a documentary to having a live exhibit. For Ramirez, he had submitted a historical paper, having to wait until 11 AM to be questioned by the judges. Ramirez says the atmosphere of the building was “stressful,” saying how “anxiety always comes before a competition,” especially with those extra hours of waiting.
Eventually, Ramirez was called up, being interviewed on his historical paper, breaking the tension of having to patiently wait, being met by different judges asking him questions on “Why his project was important,” or questions relating to the theme like, “Why was this [a] Frontier in History?” Ramirez says he was “confident” going in, having put in “so much work and effort,” hoping that they would “enjoy” his historical paper.
After being interviewed, Ramirez says he waited until “around 2 o’clock,” gathering in an area “like a hall,” where they announced the best of category winners alongside those who would be moving onto state. Ramirez says the hall was “big” with students from elementary all the way to high school seated, saying how “seeing that many people is a lot of… I guess anxiety for [him].”
Ramirez was seated with his club in the third row when he heard the name of his project, thinking in his head immediately “thank goodness,” feeling immediately relieved, describing his emotion at the moment as “happy.” Upon winning he was congratulated by his club and club advisor, along with prior teachers that he had, creating a feeling of “accomplishment” for Ramirez.
Looking into the future, Ramirez is “less confident” competing at a State level, but says how “with the time he has to revise his essay,” he “feels [he] will be able to [be] better.” With February 14th being Project Feedback Day, he is now faced with improving upon his writing before State finals.
If you happen to see Ramirez, make sure to congratulate him on his success and wish him good luck for the State finals in April!
Tags: clubs & lifestyles, history day, history day club, redwood high school