Ten students from The Connect School and one student from Pueblo County High School qualified for national competition by winning first- or second-place at the Colorado State History Day competition held last Saturday on the Auraria campus of the University of Colorado-Denver. Four additional Connect students won third-place and earned alternate status. Connect qualified more entries than any other middle school in the state. The national contest will be held June 15-19 at the University of Maryland.
These 11 students led a contingent of 83 middle- and high-school students who qualified for the state competition at the Pueblo Regional Contest held at Colorado State University-Pueblo in February. More than 400 students from Pueblo District 70, Pueblo City Schools, La Junta, Manzanola, and Canon City schools participated in the regional event, which CSU-Pueblo hosted for the 13th consecutive year.
Two entries won first-place. Anthony Settiponi and Matthew Kiselevach, Connect, won the Junior Group Documentary category with “Blood in the Sand,” and Lindsey Buxman, Connect, won the Junior Individual Performance category with “Typhoid Mary: Civil Rights vs. Public Health.”
Five area entries were runners-up: Jackson Valenzuela, Connect, for “Tear Down That Wall: A Cold War Symbol Falls”; Erin Aldag, Connect, for “Salem Witch Trials: How Social and Economic Conflict Fueled Mass Hysteria”; Marli Imes, Alexis O’Neil, Leigha Summers, and Desiree Martin, Connect, for “The Bhopal Disaster: Compromising Safety for Economic Gain”; Samantha Divelbiss, Connect, for “Galileo and the Vatican: The Ongoing Conflict”; and Pueblo County High School’s Aspen Williams for “The Uncompromising Hellion Grace O’Malley.” Williams earned a trip to nationals two years ago in the Junior Division while she was attending Connect.
A list of complete national qualifier from the area follows:
| Category |
Rank |
Entry Title |
Student 1 |
Student 2 |
Student 3 |
Student 4 |
School |
Teacher |
| Jr Ind Docu |
2 |
"Tear Down That Wall": A Cold War Symbol Falls |
Jackson Valenzuela |
|
|
|
Connect |
Lauren Gonzales |
| Jr Grp Docu |
1 |
Blood in the Sand |
Anthony Settiponi |
|
|
|
Connect |
Andrea Bacino |
| Jr Ind Exhibit |
2 |
Salem Witch Trials: How Social and Economic Conflict Fueled Mass Hysteria |
Erin Aldag |
|
|
|
Connect |
Amanda Trujillo |
| Jr Grp Exhibit |
2 |
The Bhopal Disaster: Compromising Safety for Economic Gain |
Marli Imes |
Alexis O'Neil |
Leigha Summers |
Desiree Martin |
Connect |
Amanda Trujillo |
| Jr Grp Exhibit |
3 |
Japanese Internment Camps |
Reagan Compton |
Alexis Trevizo |
Alec Pannunzio |
Jeremiah Bundy |
Connect |
Brian Repola |
| Jr Ind Perform |
1 |
Typhoid Mary: Civil Rights vs. Public Health |
Lindsey Buxman |
|
|
|
Connect |
Tamara Wiley |
| Jr Website |
2 |
Galileo and the Vatican: The Ongoing Conflict |
Samantha Divelbiss |
|
|
|
Connect |
Brian Repola |
| Sr Ind Perform |
2 |
The Uncompromising Hellion Grace O'Malley |
Aspen Williams |
|
|
|
Pueblo County HS |
Dana Ferguson |