Gabe Schroeder is a rising academic star who has won national accolades for his research.  His work has been featured at the State Museum of Pennsylvania and he just returned from the University of Maryland, College Park, where his paper "Just Plain Murder": Public Debate and Corporate Diplomacy in Donora's Fight for Clean Air won first place in the Senior Paper division at the National History Day (NHD) contest at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD.  And he is still only in high school.

“This is an incredible accomplishment” says National History Day in Pennsylvania state coordinator Jeff Hawks.  “Over 2,700 students from all over the world compete at the national level.   Only the best of the best make it to nationals and to win first place an entry has to be truly outstanding.”

Lieutenant Colonel Terry Foster (Ret.), an archive technician at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle and adjunct professor at several area colleges, has read Gabe’s paper.  “This is graduate level work,” he says.  “This young man has tremendous potential.”

This is not the first time Schroeder, a 9^th grade student at St. Joseph’s High School in Natrona Heights, PA, has gone to nationals.  After winning first place in the state contest in 2010 his paper entitled From Cholera to Crapper and Beyond: How the Innovation of the Flush Toilet Shaped Civilization finished in sixth place in the Junior Paper division.

“This year Gabe went from the Junior Division to the Senior Division, where the competition is even tougher,” Hawks points out.  “But it didn’t seem to faze him much.” 

According to Hawks, Pennsylvania is known as a strong competitor at the national level.  Twenty-one students from Pennsylvania reached the final round and placed in the top 14 in their respective categories.  “That’s 30% of the delegation,” says Hawks.  “That’s a number Pennsylvania can be proud of.”

National History Day is a year-long student-centered program of historical research and investigation.  Students select a topic based on an annual theme, research and analyze primary and secondary sources, draw conclusions, and create entries in one of five categories (documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website) to demonstrate their learning. 

“Think of the program as the laboratory component of history class; a chance for students to be historians,” says Hawks.  Over 6,000 Pennsylvania students, teachers, and parents participate at the state level through the National History Day in Pennsylvania, sponsored and administered by the Army Heritage Center Foundation.

“At a time when the New York Times is reporting on the woeful state of history education, these students and this program demonstrate how history should be taught,” says Foundation Executive Director Mike Perry.  “A recent study shows that NHD students outperform their peers on standardized tests across all subject areas.”  The study, conducted by Rockman, et al, Perry continues:  “shows that NHD participation contributes to higher academic achievement in all areas, that NHD students are better prepared for the future, and demonstrates what historians have always known:  that history is a critical component of education, as much so as math and sciences, especially in a democracy.”

As for Gabe Schroeder, his immediate future is already known:  he’s already hard at work on his project for next year.

For a full list of Pennsylvania finalists please see below.

To learn more about National History Day in Pennsylvania and the Army Heritage Center Foundation please visit http://pa.nhd.org or www.armyheritage.org or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  The Army Heritage Center Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit foundation.

The following students were honored at the 2011 National History Day contest awards ceremony:

1st Place, Senior Paper

Gabe Schroeder from St. Joseph High School, Natrona Heights, PA, for his entry "Just Plain Murder": Public Debate and Corporate Diplomacy in Donora's Fight for Clean Air.  Teacher:  Michael Stitt

Outstanding Entries from Pennsylvania

Senior Individual Exhibit

Emily Kinnunen from Gateway Senior High School, Monroeville, PA, for her entry The Game of Diplomacy: How Ping Pong Changed the World.  Teacher:  Shawn Whelan

Junior Group Web Site

Michael Simmons, Billy Aikins, Abraham Kabazie, Nick Pleva, and Joseph Cox from  Mary Queen Of Apostles School, New Kensington, PA, for their entry The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall: How Diplomacy Failed and Prevailed.  Teacher:  Evelyn Quade

In addition, the following entries from Pennsylvania placed in the top fourteen in the final round of judging:

8th Place, Junior Group Web Site

Michael Simmons, Billy Aikins, Abraham Kabazie, Nick Pleva, and Joseph Cox from  Mary Queen Of Apostles School, New Kensington, PA, for their entry The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall: How Diplomacy Failed and Prevailed.  Teacher:  Evelyn Quade

9th Place, Senior Individual Documentary

Helen Walsh from Mechanicsburg Area Senior High, Mechanicsburg, PA, for her entry Pathway to Peace.  Teacher: Beckie Lacey

 9th Place, Senior Individual Exhibit

Emily Kinnunen from Gateway Senior High School, Monroeville, PA, for her entry The Game of Diplomacy: How Ping Pong Changed the World.  Teacher:  Shawn Whelan

10th Place, Senior Group Documentary

Cassidy Gasteiger, Genevieve Gerhard; Jane Jordan, and Scott Leighow from Lewisburg Area High School, Lewisburg, PA, for their entry DDT: The Debate Sprayed 'Round the World.  Teacher:  Jennifer Boyer−Switala

11th Place, Senior Group Performance

Laura Habich, Rachel Miller, Katherine Delucy, Jillian Kinsey, and Alessandro Disanto from Bishop McDevitt High School, Harrisburg, PA, for their entry Better Dead, Than Red: Communism After World War II.  Teacher:  Erik Mark

12th Place, Senior Paper

Scott Keefer from Riverview Jr./Sr. High School, Oakmont, PA, for his entry The "Promised" Land: Failed Diplomacy and the Middle East.  Teacher:  Kenneth Kubistek

13th Place, Junior Individual Web Site

Christopher Lo from Springhouse Middle School, Allentown, PA, for his entry Treaty of Versailles: A Shattered Peace.  Teachers: Chris Gigler and Josh Abrams

14th Place, Junior Group Documentary

Simon Talago and John Luis Alvarez from St. Michael The Archangel School

Bethlehem, PA, for their entry The Dayton Peace Accords and Their Aftermath: For Better or for Worse in Bosnia?  Teacher:  Jeanette Malik