Browsing through history day projects, sophomore Mary Gleason feels excited as she sees all her peers’ History Day projects and learns about new things.

Gleason said she decided to do her History Day project on the Holocaust because it sparked her interest on human rights.

“I’ve always been really interested in the Holocaust and so I started brainstorming and searching for people who protested the Holocaust,” Gleason said. “History Day is cool because I would have never known who about certain activist if we hadn’t done this project.”

Social Studies teacher Carly Kregness said she appreciates History Day because students are able to work hard and be proud of their work.

“I think History Day is a chance for students, who have worked really hard on a project, to showcase what they have produced,” Kregness said. “I think the most important thing is they’re working on a finished product that the public can see. Through this they gain a sense of pride and ownership of wanting to do a nice job.”

Gleason said she believes History Day remains a good way to get students interested in history and educate them in areas they would not have learned about.

“I think it’s important for students to learn about our world’s past especially so we don’t repeat our world’s bad history in the future,” Gleason said.

According to Kregness many students came to school with enthusiasm to complete and present their projects.

“Today most people were happy. They were happy they completed their project and found that being judged wasn’t as scary as though tho,” Kregness said. “A lot of the students also enjoyed seeing their friends projects.”

Students moving onto State will compete April 29 at the University of Minnesota.