Yolo Middle School was represented by an all-female team at the National History Day California State Finals last weekend in Sacramento. They joined nearly 1,600 competitors from across the state hoping to advance to the national competition in Maryland in June.
According to the National History Day website, The 2025 theme was “Rights and Responsibilities in History.” Students were tasked with thinking about how the connection between rights and responsibilities has changed over time and how this has affected people and their communities. Students had to think about both rights and responsibilities together, not just a generic topic. Whether it was about a political change, a new law, a court case, a protest, or a change in thinking - these events happened because someone or a group of people took action that challenged rights and brought new responsibilities.
Students learned how rights come with the duty, responsibility to act reasonably, and protect others’ rights. Rights and responsibilities are connected, often involving a push and pull between people and those in power. They considered options as historians do through key points that covered significance, chronology, turning points, context, evidence, and historical lens. They researched how things were, what main event occurred, and then how that event shifted history in a significant way.
Students and their topics included: Taylor Harden: Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Delilah Marquez: Susan B Anthony, Sydnee Tillman: Montgomery Bus Boycott, Eva Rendon and Diana Quirarte: Jackie Robinson, Amya Arteaga and Devonny Hubbard: Child Labor, Emma Medrano and Isabelle Juarez: Rockford Peaches Baseball.
These students really delved deep to discover topics that had meaningful interest to them individually. Sydnee Tillman created a project around the Montgomery Bus Boycotts. “I have always learned about African American history and I came across this story that included one of my role models. I knew I had to choose this topic for my project,” Tillman stated. “It was interesting to see how society came from segregation to now; and it wasn’t really that long ago.”
Emma Medrano and Isabelle Juarez swung into the historical significance of the Rockford Peaches. “I learned that I could relate to what I learned about women in sports from this project. I was surprised,” Juarez said. “I was surprised and it made me feel strong and happy,” Medrano agreed. “Women really make a difference.”
“When researching the timeline of when women couldn’t vote and it’s still fairly new in our history. Women are still fighting and our voices are still needing to be heard. There’s still progress to be made,” Delilah Marquez noted on her project about Susan B. Anthony.
“I really felt like this project made me more aware about our rights and responsibilities. Someone has to be held responsible for maintaining rights that people fought so hard for,” Diana Quirarte shared.
Beyond learning more about significant historical events that helped shape our current society, students gained valuable skills without realizing it. “I was shocked how much fun this was to do than my normal school work. I really wanted to learn more and explore the topic and it was something I didn’t have confidence in myself to do before,” Amya Arteaga stated. “What was fun about the county competition was seeing all the other kids who were excited about history like I am. It’s a very positive environment filled with uplifting people and everyone building each other up - it’s just something so great to be a part of.” Before the competition, however, nerves definitely hit. “I felt terrified because I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t think we would move on to state,” Taylor Harden expressed. “I figured I would just stutter through it either way, but once I started speaking I knew I had the confidence that wasn’t there before.”
Amya Arteaga admitted to being shy at first too, but gained confidence from her fellow teammates. Diana Quirarte agreed, “This is a good group to invest in for the future. The price is good from what we learn from it. We really put a lot into this and see the results, even in our other classes.” Other teammates chimed in to agree that they felt more confident in speaking up in class to share their opinions and answers because of the skills they learned from the project. One student even shared that their parents helped at home by making her present her project to people who came to visit the house so she could get over her shyness of speaking in public. They all shared the same sentiment that this project helped them socialize, stutter less when speaking in front of people, and just be confident in general.
Devonny Hubbard (the only member who had competed previously) knew that her team would enjoy competing. “I set a goal for myself to place higher than I did last year, which was 15th overall in my division for the state. I am proud of my teammates and hope we can continue to compete next year,” Hubbard stated. “We have voices that matter. As children, as students, as girls, as athletes - we have a responsibility to uphold the rights that people before us fought so hard for.”
