The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Top Stories

Discussion

June 15, 2012

Joplin student wins division in national history competition

By Kelsey Ryan news@joplinglobe.com

JOPLIN, Mo. — Anum Ahmed, who was an eighth-grader at South Middle School last year, has won the gold medal junior division in individual website at the Kenneth E. Behring National History Day competition at the University of Maryland-College Park.

As a first-place winner, she will be recognized by the National Endowment for the Humanities with a college scholarship and will receive a cash award. More than 2,800 students competed at the national competition, the theme of which this year was “Revolution, Reaction, Reform.”

Ahmed’s website, “A Revolution by Ruhollah Khomeini: The Voice That Changed Iran,” focused on how Iran changed before and after the 1979 revolution, led by Khomeini, that saw the overthrow of the Shah of Iran.

Click here to see Ahmed’s winning website.

“I had a lot of fun researching it,” Ahmed said. “My favorite part was probably when I finished it and got to see how it turned out. I’m really proud of my end product.”

Ahmed said she was very excited to win and didn’t believe it at first. Earlier this year, she won the regional competition at Missouri Southern State University. She then went on to Columbia, where she received third place and was therefore an alternate for nationals. When the first-place winner from state dropped out of the competition, she was able to compete at nationals, but only had a week to complete the project.

“The judges said that they really liked the design of my project and thought the topic I researched was difficult because it was international,” she said.

Her teacher, Ivan Obert, will receive a year’s complimentary membership in the Organization of American Historians.

“I really couldn’t have done it without my family or teacher,” Ahmed said. “They really helped me stay sane during this whole process.”

Ahmed competed in History Day last year and won at regionals, but did not place at state with her paper about the court case Brown v. The Board of Education. She said she hopes to participate in History Day in high school and may pursue a future career in medicine.





 

Text Only
Top Stories
  • 052413 pools5_72.jpg Area pools ready for plunge; Schifferdecker opening still to be announced

    Though this week’s mild temperatures may not signal swim season, most area pools are ready anyway. And, the mercury should rise a little this weekend to help those anxious to dive in. Highs will be in the low 80s today and Sunday. There is a chance for isolated thunderstorms on Monday, but the thermometer should hit 82 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

    May 24, 2013 2 Photos

  • Joplin School Board decision could take up to two weeks; Turner remains on paid leave

    It could take up two weeks for the Joplin Board of Education to decide whether Randy Turner’s teaching contract should be terminated, the school district’s attorney, John Nicholas, said Friday.

    May 24, 2013

  • 052413 Loretta Bailey.jpg Joplin insurance agent seeks donations for Moore, Okla.

    After losing an office building and her home in the tornado on May 22, 2011, Loretta Bailey is familiar with the destruction that a tornado brings. The 400 households that her insurance agency helped through the aftermath of the tornado also know that loss. \

    May 24, 2013 1 Photo

  • Families, friends invited to honor veterans with flags this weekend

    Small lengths of plastic pipe have been installed behind the headstones of veterans graves in Joplin cemeteries so that every veteran will have a flag on Memorial Day.

    May 24, 2013

  • Events, activities planned to honor veterans Monday

    No ceremonies are planned at Joplin cemeteries this year or at Mount Hope Cemetery in Webb City, but a number of other events are scheduled in cities around the region.

    May 24, 2013

  • 052313 Turner6_72.jpg Joplin Board of Education to decide fate of East Middle School teacher

    After hearing nearly 10 hours of testimony from more than a dozen witnesses and accepting more than 45 exhibits into evidence, members of the Joplin Board of Education voted to move behind closed doors Thursday night to decide whether Randy Turner, a communication arts teacher at East Middle School, will continue to teach.

    May 23, 2013 2 Photos

  • 052213 gas4_72.jpg Memorial Day travelers bemoan high gas prices

    Norm Hayward and his wife, Claudia, have a couple of things going for them as they continue their increasingly expensive motor home trip around parts of the United States. For starters, the Phoenix, Ariz., couple are saving on hotel costs.

    May 23, 2013 1 Photo

  • Cunningham Park vandalism estimated at $4,000

    Vandals caused an estimated $4,000 worth of damage in Cunningham Park, draining the pool in the aquatic center of about 200,000 gallons of water and throwing some large landscaping rocks into the reflecting pond.

    May 23, 2013

  • Joplin team drove through storm to get to Moore

    It was a long drive in the middle of a severe thunderstorm that had earlier produced a massive tornado in Moore, Okla. With the two-year anniversary of Joplin’s deadly twister approaching on Wednesday, a team of 14 Joplin emergency workers was ready to risk the trip in order to get help to a hurting Moore.

    May 23, 2013

  • 052313 Turner1_72.jpg Content of book, students' access to it at issue in hearing for suspended teacher

    A standing-room only crowd is present at the hearing this morning to decide the fate of suspended Joplin Middle School teacher Randy Turner, who has asked for the hearing before the board of education.

    May 23, 2013 1 Photo