By Nicole Yip

The familiar sound of Kahoot music and bursts of excitement echo through the hall. If you look into room 431 on Wednesdays after school you’ll find the History Day Club working on their projects for the National History Day competition or students hoping that they know enough historical trivia to win the Kahoot game.
The History Day Club connects students to the past to help them understand society and real world problems. This allows students to learn how to become leaders and responsible citizens. The club meets on a weekly basis to discuss historical events and upcoming club events.
The History Day Club hosts trivia contests and Kahoot games with rewards for the winners being food. They also plan to decorate the bulletin board in the social studies hallway during historical months such as Women’s History Month, and they hope to invite a guest speaker to South who was part of or witnessed a significant historical event.
Their main event is the National History Day competition. Over half a million students nationwide compete every year, and high-achieving students earn scholarships and awards such as the White House History Prize, the Immigration History Award, and the History of the Physical Sciences & Technologies Award. The contest has a different theme every year; this year’s theme is “triumph and tragedy.” Competitors choose a historical event, person, or document that best exemplifies the theme and make a project such as a trifold poster, website, or performance on that historical event. Competitors complete projects individually or with partners. Winners at the regional level move on to states and then nationals. Last year, club members Michael Lu, Gloria Moon, Jennifer Wang, and Katelyn Lee made a website about the Vietnam war for their project, winning at the regional level.
The club isn’t just for history buffs, though. Senior Chloe Metz, one of the Presidents of the History Day Club, said, “It’s not just for people interested in history or the competition. If you are super artsy, you can create an exhibit or if you have an interest for film-making, you can make a documentary. So it’s really a club for anyone.”