Ridgewood High Students Qualify For National History Day Contest

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — Ridgewood High School juniors Isabella Harelick, Isabel Lee, Paul Nasr, and Alice Zhang have advanced to the National History Day National Contest for their documentary on investigative journalist Sir Harold Evans and his reporting of the thalidomide scandal.

The group had previously qualified for the state contest for their profile of Evans, which was the first time "in recent history" that Ridgewood High School had participated in the event, according to library media specialist Corrina Moss-Keller. Read more: Ridgewood High Students Qualify For NJ History Day Contest

In preparation for the state competition, the students thoroughly revised their film, "A Voice for the Oppressed: Sir Harold Evans and the Sunday Times Campaign", based on feedback from the judges and RHS faculty, as well as a review from the Smithsonian, according to a news release.

Their thesis was refined, and the documentary was edited to include interviews with Harold Evans' widow, journalist, and editor, Tina Brown, and their daughter, Isabel Evans.

"We couldn't have done this without the help of all our interviewees and the help of the Evans family. Everyone we reached out to has given us so much guidance and really helped with both our research process and providing primary sources," said Nasr.

"Competing in NHD has given us so many valuable learning experiences, and helped us to become better researchers and students. We hope that we can inspire other Ridgewood students to participate in NHD in the future," added Lee.

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