State Historical Society of Iowa
Senior Division National Qualifiers

Senior Division Historical Paper

The Jazz Ambassadors: Using the Weapon of "Swing" for Diplomacy and the Debate of Racism in the United States

Gehrig Lachenmaier
Prairieview School (Urbandale) 
Teacher: Brittany Schofield

Speak No German: The Babel Proclamation

Meredith Struebing
Abraham Lincoln High School (Council Bluffs)
Teacher: Deb Masker

Senior Division Individual Exhibit

1980 Olympic Boycott

Treyton Schaapherder
Clarinda High School (Clarinda )
Teacher: Linda Vanden Bosch

A Debate In the Air

Jubilee Cunigan
Southeast Valley High School (Dayton)
Teacher: Josh Dyer

Senior Division Group Exhibit

La Huelga- The Struggle That Earned Farm Workers Rights

Leticia Herrera and Yessenia Alvarez Zamora
Marshalltown High School (Marshalltown)
Teacher: Susan Fritzell

Nazi John Rabe's Diplomatic Challenge: Savior to Victims of the Nanking Massacre

Calla Brunkan and Peyton Wenck
North Scott Senior High School (Eldridge)
Teachers: Michele Willet and Lisa Jackson

Senior Division Individual Documentary

When the Little Ball Moved the Big Ball: How the 1971 Ping Pong Tournaments Thawed U.S. and China Relations in the Cold War

Rohan Devadas
Johnston Senior High School (Johnston)
Teacher: Sue Cline

Changing Tides: The Devastating Story of the Sri Lankan Tamil Crisis

Akshara Eswar
Johnston Senior High School (Johnston)
Teacher: Sue Cline

Senior Division Group Documentary

Out Of Their Chairs And Up The Stairs: ADA Now!

Callahan Levi, Kadence Huck and Paige Franzen
Nashua-Plainfield Junior-Senior High School (Nashua)
Teacher: Suzan Turner

Plyler v. Doe: Crossing the Border from Classroom to Courtroom

Eshaan Chandani and Anjali Kumar
Johnston High School (Johnston)
Teacher: Sue Cline

Senior Division Individual Performance

Upton Sinclair: Bringing Debate to Expose Appalling Conditions Reforming the Meat Industry

Mandolin Young
Akron Westfield Senior High School (Akron)
Teacher: Val Philips

A Diplomatic Queen: From Pawn to Player

Nessa Brooks
Le Mars High School (Le Mars)
Teacher: Kathi Oetken

Senior Division Group Performance

A Study in Secrets: How the Betrayal of a Nation Paved the Way for Foreign and Domestic Reform

Casey Oolman, Amy De Groot, Caleb TeKrony and Jane Taylor
Unity Christian High School (Sioux Center)
Teacher: Mandy Van Schouwen

Amica Mea, Te Amo: The Fall of the Roman Republic

Gauge Reyes, Liam Knudtson, Maddison Lambert, Aubry Knudtson and Carter Lambert
Okoboji High School (Milford)
Teacher: Linnea Lambert

Senior Division Individual Website

Khrushchev, Corn, and Cold War Diplomacy: Garst Grows Relations With Russia One Ear At A Time

Caleb Sinnwell
Nashua-Plainfield Junior-Senior High School (Nashua)
Teacher: Suzan Turner

'An Inward Voyage of Discovery' Debate and Diplomacy: The Human Genome Project

Lillie Hoffman
Storm Lake High School (Storm Lake)
Teacher: Christina Rice

Senior Division Group Website

The Mother of Modern Medicine: Henrietta Lacks and the Debate Over HeLa Cells

Mackenzie Bohr and Madison McNealey
North Scott High School (Eldridge)
Teacher: Michele Willet and Lisa Jackson

The Panama Canal: Connecting Two Worlds

Shreyas Shrestha, Aydean Bejtovic, Kathir Kalyanaraman and Andrew Bogue
Johnston Middle School (Johnston)
Teacher: Molly McConnell
Alternates

Senior Division Historical Paper

Diplomatic Approaches to Nuclear Competition during the Cold War

Lauryn Venema
Williamsburg Jr-Sr High School (East Amana)
Teacher: Nathan Rodemeyer

Senior Division Individual Exhibit

Chernobyl: Debate & Diplomacy

Kaeley Meyer
Unity Christian High School (Sioux Center)
Teacher: Mandy Van Schouwen

Senior Division Group Exhibit

"It Is Up To You Boys": How Debate Changed Sioux County

Morgan Hummel and Amalia Visser
Unity Christian High School (Orange City)
Teacher: Kris Talsma

Senior Division Individual Documentary

How the U-2 Deception Eroded Super-Power Diplomacy

Charles Gilbertson
Marshalltown High School (Marshalltown)
Teacher: Susan Fritzell

Senior Division Group Documentary

Governor Ray and the Tai Dam: Diplomacy Despite the Debate

Emily Eppinga and MyKayla Zylstra
Unity Christian High School (Sioux Center)
Teacher: Jonathon Holwerda

Senior Division Group Performance

The PMRC Hearings: Parents, Punks, and Parley

Caeden Canuso, Chase Madden, Katelyn McFarland and Sydney Bellinghausen
Carroll High School (Carroll)
Teacher: Kelly Borchers

Senior Division Individual Website

The 504 Sit-In: Debating the Government for Disability Rights

Anita Dinakar
Johnston Senior High School (Grimes)
Teacher: Sue Cline

Senior Division Group Website

The 1955 Le Mans Disaster: Debating Racing and Diplomacy for Improved Safety

Tom Lane and Matthew Beierschmitt
Akron Westfield Senior High School (Merrill)
Teacher: Val Philips
Junior Division National Qualifiers

Junior Division Historical Paper

The Cuban Missile Crisis: The World on the Brink

Rachel Horton
Harding Middle School (Robins)
Teacher: Shannon Haas

Herbert Hoover: Humanitarian Hero Halts Hunger Through Food Diplomacy

Elexa O'Neill
Nashua-Plainfield Junior-Senior High School (Charles City)
Teacher: Suzan Turner

Junior Division Individual Exhibit

A Ray of Compassion: Debate and Diplomacy of the Indochinese Refugees

Sarah Tilberg
Le Mars Middle School (Le Mars)
Teacher: Kathi Oetken

A Debated Diplomacy: The Cuban Missile Crisis

Sydney Bruxvoort
Oskaloosa Christian School (New Sharon)
Teacher: Renee Van Kooten

Junior Division Group Exhibit

Orphan Train: Journey of Uncertainty

Garrett See, Ryan Northup and Tommy Sexton
St. Benedict School (Ridgeway)
Teacher: Patty Lien

Strike 3! Baseball's Out! The 1994 MLB Baseball Strike

William Barquist and Joseph McDermott
Bettendorf Middle School (Bettendorf)
Teacher: Deb Temperly

Junior Division Individual Documentary

Hollywood’s Red Scare: How Diplomacy and Debate Over Communism Impacted Film

Benjamin Gillette
Bettendorf Middle School (Bettendorf)
Teacher: Deb Temperly

Debating Desegregation: Crisis In Little Rock

Kaia Schleifman
Gerald W Kirn Middle School (Council Bluffs)
Teacher: Deb Masker

Junior Division Group Documentary

Lo, the Rich Indian: How the Lack of Debate and Absence of Diplomacy Impacted the Osage Nation

Peyton Small, Melissa Fairbanks, Nathan Schoenfelder and Reegan Mckee
Akron Westfield Middle School (Akron)
Teacher: Val Philips

Failed Diplomacy in the Black Hills: The Ongoing Debate for the Sioux Nation’s Sacred Land

Lilah Rasche and Lucy Wolf
Bettendorf Middle School (Bettendorf)
Teacher: Deb Temperly

Junior Division Individual Performance

Dorothea Dix: How debate & diplomacy changed the treatment of mental health patients forever

Vivian Searcy
St. Benedict School (Decorah)
Teacher: Patty Lien

The Lowell Mill Girls: A Revolutionary Step for Women's Activists

Gabriella Ripslinger
Bettendorf Middle School (Davenport)
Teacher: Deb Temperly

Junior Division Group Performance

Iowa Girls Basketball: A Century of Debate

Tess Frerichs, Avery Gaswint, Elizabeth Philips and Morgan Knapp
Akron-Westfield Middle School (Akron)
Teacher: Val Philips

The Luminous Career of a Radium Girl: Patriotism, Poisoning, and The Occupational Disease Labor Legislation of 1936

Yllka Islami, Brooke Stangl, Jaia Strong, Leah McFarland and Brianna Kiger
Carroll Middle School (Carroll)
Teacher: Kelly Borchers

Junior Division Individual Website

The International Bill of Human Rights: A Path to Equality

Abigail Agan
Sudlow Intermediate (Davenport)
Teacher: Kimberly Woods

Vietnamese Refugees in Iowa: Ray's Humanitarian and Controversial Relocation

Lillian Frideres
Nevada Middle School (Nevada)
Teacher: Randy Davis

Junior Division Group Website

Tinker v. Des Moines: Silent Debate at the Schoolhouse Gate Opens the Door for Student Expression

Christopher Niedert, Lily Jones and Connor Sullivan
Nashua-Plainfield Junior-Senior High School (Nashua)
Teacher: Suzan Turner

The Abortion Debate: How Roe v. Wade Empowered Women While Polarizing a Nation

Makenna Miller, Charlotte Nigey and Kelsi Smith
Bettendorf Middle School (Bettendorf)
Teacher: Deb Temperly
Alternates

Junior Division Historical Paper

Standing Bear’s Fight for Justice: How a Ponca Chief Influenced the Debate Over Native Rights in America

Mila Hansen
Lewis Central Middle School (Council Bluffs)
Teacher: Michelle Kavars

Junior Division Individual Exhibit

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: Tragedy Sparks Safety Debate

Rachel Paplow
Nashua-Plainfield Junior-Senior High School (Nashua)
Teacher: Suzan Turner

Junior Division Group Exhibit

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Controversy

Willow Blair and Audrey Essa
St. Benedict School (Decorah)
Teacher: Patty Lien

Junior Division Individual Documentary

Dr. Harvey Wiley: Saving a Poisoned America

Titus Cerwinske
Nashua-Plainfield Junior-Senior High School (Nashua)
Teacher: Suzan Turner

Junior Division Group Documentary

Terror, Tragedy, and Teddy Roosevelt: How America’s Leader Saved America’s Game

Brayden Swearinger and Noah Penn
Franklin Middle School (Cedar Rapids)
Teacher: Kristina Dvorak

Junior Division Individual Performance

The Caning of Charles Sumner: The Breakdown of Debate and Diplomacy

Lucas Hagen
B R Miller Middle School (Marshalltown)
Teacher: Ann Jackson

Junior Division Group Performance

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire’s Impact on America

Claudia Dixon, Gracelynn Tangen and Rachel Weis
St. Benedict (Decorah)
Teacher: Patty Lien

Junior Division Individual Website

Stonewall Riots

Isabella Sailor
Decorah Middle School (Decorah)
Teacher: Wes Knaack

Junior Division Group Website

Jazz Diplomacy: Melting the Iron Curtain

Spencer Nelson, Elijah Oetken and John Higman
Akron Westfield Middle School (Akron)
Teacher: Val Philips