Mangilao, GU, June 12, 2020 – Recognizing the hard work Guam’s middle and high school students put into their Guam History Day projects, the University of Guam Richard Flores Taitano Micronesian Area Research Center (MARC) hosted this year’s Guam History Day Competition online instead o canceling it due to the COVID 19 Pandemic. The MARC commends the organizers, judges, mentors, teachers and especially students who pushed through this unique situation and contributed to a very successful Guam History Day Competition.
Guam History Day is an annual academic competition that recognizes the hard work of students in the island’s middle and high schools, who conduct research on topics related to Guam’s history. While the competition is usually a one-day event, preparing for it is a year-long academic program. Students are given a theme and must choose a topic in Guam’s history that responds to the theme. They research the topic and prepare a presentation for community members who evaluate and score their work. Students choose from the following presentation formats: Research Paper, Documentary, Exhibit and Website. The theme for this year’s Guam History Day Competition was “Breaking Barriers in Guam’s History.” The students who competed not only interpreted this theme in dynamic ways , they also rose to the challenge of shifting from a traditional competition to a virtual one. “While the Island was concerned about the COVID19 Pandemic, UOG MARC was focused on getting this competition underway and giving the students their deserved recognition, which is truly an awesome thing they did.” said Mary Williams, Andersen Middle School, teacher and coordinator. The MARC appreciates the community-wide effort it took to host this year’s competition and commends all students who participated. This year’s virtual competition would not have been possible without the awesome support of the University of Guam’s RFK Library Systems Librarian Jef Libao, UOG Computer Center, MARC/RFK Faculty and Staff, Teachers/Coordinators of the participating schools and community partners. The judges took time off their busy schedules to review and evaluate more than 80 projects, making the shift to a virtual competition a success. The competition was also made possible by the following sponsors: Takagi and Associates, SPSS/76 Circle K, GTA Guam, and UOG College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. In lieu of a trip to compete at the National History Day competition at the University of Maryland, this year’s first place winners will receive laptops and iPads courtesy of these generous sponsors. |
St. John’s students, Vicente Blas Taijeron, senior, and Alexander Denight Gayle, freshman, pose with Public Auditor Benjamin J. Cruz. The students placed first in the Guam History Day Group Documentary Division for their documentary, “Breaking Barriers: How Benjamin J Cruz Became the First Openly Gay Supreme Court Justice in America.”
For more information, please contact:
LaVonne Guerrero-Meno Cell 1 (671) 487-6366 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.uog.edu/marc-home Download the file below (opens with Microsoft Excel) to view the links to the winning entries.
Scroll below to see this year's Guam History Day winners! |