Several students from Natchitoches schools earned top honors during the Natchitoches Regional National History Day Contest held Feb. 26, 2026, at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum.
Students from St. Mary’s Catholic School and the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts joined participants from Bolton Academy in Alexandria and Buckeye High School in Buckeye to present projects in the documentary, paper, performance and exhibit categories.
National History Day is an annual academic competition for students in grades 6–12 that encourages research and presentation on historical topics of interest. Participants may compete individually or in groups by creating a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance or website.
Each year the program highlights a broad historical theme designed to connect topics across world, national and state history. The 2026 theme is “Revolution, Reaction, and Reform.”
Students who placed in the top four of their respective categories at the regional contest will advance to the Louisiana National History Day State Contest, scheduled for April 11 at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. The museum serves as the official Louisiana affiliate for the program. The top two finishers in each category at the state level will advance to the National History Day competition at the University of Maryland near Washington, D.C., June 14–18.
Several Natchitoches-area students qualified for the state competition.
From the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts, Kali Smith earned first place in the Senior Paper category for “How Penicillin Revolutionized Medicine During WWII.” In the Senior Individual Exhibit category, Jonathan Kaluturi placed first with “ACT UP for All,” while Owen Rose placed second with “The First Female Native American Rights Activist.”
LSMSA student Sophie Hauptman also earned first place in the Senior Individual Performance category with “The Malibu Dream: The Revolution of Barbie on Women’s Rights.”
Students from St. Mary’s Catholic School also earned top finishes. Koby Clay and Lavarion Fisher placed third in the Senior Group Exhibit category with “Black Panthers,” while Camille Armstrong, Asa Nash and Joelee Savell placed fourth with “Protestant Reformation.” In the Senior Group Documentary category, Summer Rushing and Ava Wren took first place for “Women in the American Revolution.”
The regional contest was coordinated by Dr. Emily Bryant, branch director of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum.
Judges for the competition included representatives from Northwestern State University, Cane River Creole National Historical Park, the Vernon Parish School Board and community volunteers.
Anna Keneda, student programs specialist with the National WWII Museum, serves as the Louisiana National History Day coordinator.
