Wyoming Student Takes Third at National History Day Contest

Lachlan Gebhart, of Lander Middle School, won third place in the Junior Individual Documentary division at the virtual 2022 National History Day Contest with his project, “Wolves: Bloodthirsty Menaces or Stewards of the Land?”

His project also received the Gerald and Jessie F. Chambers Junior Division Award sponsored by the University of Wyoming’s American Heritage Center at Wyoming History Day in April.

“The performance of Wyoming’s History Day students was a positive step forward for the program statewide and a major win for students across the state who have had to deal with the pandemic the last two years,” says Wyoming History Day Coordinator Cameron Green.

The National History Day contest also recognized two outstanding projects from Wyoming. The outstanding junior division project went to Lily Anderson, Carly Robertson and Haidyn Sisson, from Wheatland Middle School, for their performance “Wichowayake.” And “A Debate Over Freedom and Cultural Diplomacy: How the Beatles Inspired a Generation to Make Change Back in the U.S.S.R.,” a documentary by Ruby Homer-Wambeam, a home-schooled student from Laramie, was the outstanding senior project from Wyoming.

Only students who placed at Wyoming History Day moved on to the national competition. Wyoming History Day, administered by UW’s American Heritage Center in partnership with the Wyoming State Historical Society, occurs every year in late April or early May.

National History Day is a nonprofit education organization based in College Park, Md. It offers yearlong academic programs that engage over a half million middle and high school students around the world annually in conducting original research on historical topics of interest.