Two Buncombe County Schools students will wrap up the school year with a historic field trip.
Charlie Hurwitz and Owen McAbee, both 8th graders at Cane Creek Middle School, have qualified to compete in National History Day. They’ll leave this weekend to participate in events at the University of Maryland and explore Washington, D.C.
“We plan on going to the Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, and national museums,” Charlie said. “It will also be cool just being on a college campus.”
The pair earned the trip by building a website based on their research of Plessy v. Ferguson. The landmark Supreme Court case in 1896 upheld racial segregation laws of the time.
“We went beyond the ruling, and researched the history behind it, the stories of those involved, and the consequences of the result,” said Charlie. “I was surprised to learn about the seemingly obvious injustices committed by the court.”
Teacher Nicole Osborne, who will accompany her students to the competition, is excited to have the boys present their project.
“National History Day doesn’t just make history, it makes historians,” she shared. “They’ve never stopped working to improve their project for the regional competition, followed by more work for state competition, and now they have the chance to go to the national event. I’m very proud of them.”
Charlie and Owen will spend four days with the top history students from across the country and a few delegations from around the world.
“It’s exciting for us to achieve this, and have our hard work at school and at home pay off,” said Owen. “It’s also a great honor to have this opportunity to represent Cane Creek and Buncombe County Schools in such a great way, and share this experience.”
In addition to the website category, students can also build exhibits, submit documentaries, or present dramatic performances of historic events.
“We saw some great projects at the state competition,” said Owen. “When they announced our names, we were excited, of course, but it took a while to set in that we’re actually getting to go to Washington, D.C.”
More than a half million students participate in local National History Day projects each year, with the highest-scoring projects making it through the regional, state, and ultimately the national event at the University of Maryland. Good luck to Charlie and Owen!