Ever wonder why you were forced or are being forced to participate in NHD? It is not just another assignment you are given because they do not have anything else planned.

“I have done NHD for 3 years now,” says Honors World History teacher, Mr. Blanchat. “I choose to do NHD because it is great for growing on students’ researching skills.”

Every year, thousands of students compete in a chance to go to the national level, and go to the University of Maryland for the final round. Blanchat likes the idea of NHD.

“I feel that the qualities it takes to pull of an NHD project, proves them to be all round students.”

There are multiple categories the students could research for. There is a paper, a website, an exhibit, a performance, or a documentary. But it is not as easy as it sounds.

“There is a lot of research involved,” says Honors World History student, Dale Michael.

Every year the theme is different. This years’ is “Triumph and Tragedy”. Michael is doing a documentary on farmers during The Great Depression. Other groups are doing topics such as the Vietnam War or the Holocaust. Ben White, also an Honors student, enjoys participating in NHD.

“It helps me learn about topics that I knew about, but never really researched in depth. It challenges us to research these topics until you are basically an expert on the topic.”