RCS well represented at Tennessee History Day Competition

Central Magnet students excel at Tennessee History Day, advance to national competition

April 14, 2025

By BARTON HENLEY
Rutherford County Schools

On April 5, RCS students participated in the Tennessee History Day competition held on the campus of Tennessee State University in Nashville. Central Magnet had its most successful showing to date, with multiple first-place finishes and several students advancing to the National History Day competition in College Park, Maryland. Students from Smyrna Middle and Rocky Fork Middle also competed. 

In addition to the exceptional student achievements, Central Magnet teacher Brandon Eldridge was named the 2025 Tennessee History Day Teacher of the Year and will represent the state of Tennessee at the national level this June.

Below is a full list of the projects and schools represented:

  • William Carey: The Modern Mission, Senior Individual Website, Central Magnet School, Sydney Elle Cumming

  • "The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon" + The Age of Consent in Victorian London, Senior Group Website, Central Magnet School, Sophie Tan, Allison Urban, Polly Grace Viswanathan

  • Causation and Outcome of the Sri Lanka Civil War, Senior Group Documentary, Central Magnet School, Will Clark, Jacob Gardner

  • Chinese Exclusion Acts Rights and Responsibilities, Senior Group Website, Central Magnet School, Aws Abdulrahman, Matthew Smith

  • Dolly Parton: A Key Leader of the Second Wave Feminist Movement, Senior Group Performance, Central Magnet School, Madilyn Rigsby, Ada Vance

  • Japanese American Internment at Manzanar, Senior Group Documentary, Central Magnet School, Marissa Bratsch, Maggie Edwards

  • KATYN: Truth Shot, Lies Planted, Senior Individual Documentary, Central Magnet School, Gaven Burrows

  • Kindertransport, Senior Group Performance, Central Magnet School, Alivia Mangrum, Sophia Mangrum, Kingsley McDade, Michael Seth Nobles, Aidan Stricklin

  • Magna Carta, Senior Group Website, Central Magnet School, Jackob Abrahamson, Justis Wagner

  • Metallica Vs. Napster, Senior Group Exhibit, Central Magnet School, Molly Bartsch, Breanna Gonzalez, Caroline Hopper

  • Mitchell v. Globe Documentary, Senior Group Documentary, Central Magnet School, Elaina Cox, Noah Lawrence, Elaine Li, Eli Sugg

  • New York Times Co. v. United States, Senior Group Exhibit, Central Magnet School, Joy Holzmann, Michael Holzmann, Naomi Holzmann

  • North Korean Animation, Senior Group Exhibit, Central Magnet School, Sarah Kim, Isabella McIntyre

  • Oath and Obligation: The History of the Hippocratic Oath, Senior Group Exhibit, Central Magnet School, Evelyn Riley, Sara Grace Terrell

  • Potatoes to Poverty: How Irish Migration During the Great Famine Shifted the Rights and Responsibilities of the American Irish, Senior Individual Paper, Central Magnet School, Harrison Allen

  • Privacy in the Tech Age, Senior Individual Paper, Central Magnet School, Ava Ward

  • Providing the Right to Access Healthcare: An Analysis of Worldwide Disease Eradication Efforts, Senior Individual Paper, Central Magnet School, Elle Foss

  • Seychelles: Prisons Redone, Senior Individual Exhibit, Central Magnet School, Lincoln Nickerson

  • Shivaji Maharaj: King of the Marathas' Imprisonment, Senior Group Exhibit, Central Magnet School, Rhucha Chawathe, Meridian Jackson

  • Siege of Waco, Senior Individual Documentary, Central Magnet School, Harrison Hamby

  • The American Indian Movement (AIM): The Rights of Native Americans and the Responsibilities of the U.S Government, Senior Group Website, Central Magnet School, Asly Gramajo, Cin Lian, Samantha Raines, Ryelin Scudder

  • The Battle of Hastings and William's Laws: The Rights and Responsibilities of William the Conqueror, Senior Group Website, Central Magnet School, Ian Fletcher, Myer Harrell, Austin Lippert

  • The Due Process Clause, Senior Individual Paper, Siegel High School, Ash Merrow

  • The First Amendment, Senior Individual Exhibit, Central Magnet School, Chukwudi Obi

  • The Fish Wars, Senior Individual Exhibit, Central Magnet School, Claire Horner

  • The French Revolution, Senior Individual Paper, Central Magnet School, Nic Sands

  • The Ginsburg Footprint, Senior Individual Paper, Central Magnet School, Hunter Higgs

  • The Legacy of Habeas Corpus, Senior Group Exhibit, Central Magnet School, Anna Atkinson, Zara Martinez

  • The Passing of the Fair Labor Standards Act: What it Entailed for Government, Employees, and Employers, Senior Individual Paper, Central Magnet School, Aliya Higinbotham

  • The Warren Court: Champion of Civil Rights and Judicial Activism, Senior Individual Paper, Central Magnet School, Emily Taylor

  • Tiananmen Square Massacre Documentary, Senior Group Documentary, Central Magnet School, Abdullah Abu-Halimah, Evan Daly, Braden Donahue, Peter Ha, Grant McKay

  • VAWA: The Nation’s Responsibility to Preserve Women’s Rights, Senior Group Exhibit, Central Magnet School, Ella Harrell, Tessa Long

  • Voices of Injustice: The Legacy of Japanese American Incarceration Camps, Senior Group Website, Central Magnet School, Kirsten Pike, Addison Stagner

  • “The Usual Irish Way of Doing Things” The Irish Immigration Controversy, Junior Group Exhibit, Central Magnet School, Esther Khual, Meghna Sarma

  • Civil Rights Movement, Junior Group Exhibit, Rock Springs Middle School, Amelle Alawadi, Cesia Avila

  • Claudette Colvin; The 15-year-old Civil Rights Activist Who Acted Before Rosa Parks, Junior Individual Paper, Rocky Fork Middle School, Caitlin Frazier

  • HeLa Cells and its Contributions to Medical Consent/Rights, Junior Group Website, Central Magnet School, Yeonu Hwang, Aditi Vinod

  • How Jackie Robinson Broke the Color Barrier in Baseball, Junior Group Documentary, Smyrna Middle School, Joseph Henry, Sebastian Mendoza, David Rodriguez Medina

  • How John Brown Changed the Civil War, Junior Group Exhibit, Rocky Fork Middle School, Nick Davis, Gavin Schwartz

  • How Sojourner Truth Advanced the Progress of Women's Rights in Her Speech "Ain't I a Woman?", Junior Group Exhibit, Smyrna Middle School, Rachel Molina, Trent Perkins

  • Jo Ann Robinson's Contribution to the Civil Rights Movement, Junior Group Exhibit, Rocky Fork Middle School, Hudson Black, Jolia Ghattas, Zander Mullins, Oliver Williams

  • Music's Impact on Tennessee and Culture, Junior Group Website, Rocky Fork Middle School, Danica Arita, Olivia Christopher, Edwin Rich

  • The Eighth Amendment, Junior Individual Website, Rocky Fork Middle School, Abigayle Nees

  • The Impact of Dorothea Dix on Mental Health, Junior Group Documentary, Smyrna Middle School, Isabella Adams, Caroline Evans, Thipmany Ladalom

  • The Inevitability of the American Revolution, Junior Individual Website, Smyrna Middle School, Dante Walden

  • The Pankhurst Fight for Women's Rights, Junior Group Documentary, Smyrna Middle School, Madison Comer, Alex Hiott, Esther Moo

  • The Rights and Responsibilities of Sharecroppers, Junior Individual Paper, Smyrna Middle School, Adalyn Smith

  • The Story of How Scott County Seceded from Tennessee, Junior Individual Documentary, Smyrna Middle School, Nathan Sime

  • Walter Reed's Actions During the Yellow Fever Outbreak, Junior Individual Performance, Smyrna Middle School, Melissa Mejia

  • Women At War, Junior Individual Paper, Central Magnet School, Quinn Ertl

  • Women's Educational Heroes, Junior Group Exhibit, Rock Springs Middle School, Zipporah DuFault, Mayvil Labib