Aesop Birkmeier celebrates with his grandmother, Carol Birkmeier, after winning the junior division of the National History Day competition and performing at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.
Editor’s note: The Republic is publishing a June article that appeared in our sister paper, the Brown County Democrat: Aesop Birkmeier, a Brown County Middle School student, appeared on Sunday’s episode of CBS’ “60 Minutes” in a re-run of the National History Day contest.
BROWN COUNTY — Brown County Middle School student Aesop Birkmeyer won first place in the junior division for individual achievement at the National History Day competition in College Park, Maryland.
Nearly 3,000 students from across the country presented history projects in five categories: performance, documentary, exhibition, essay and website. Each project had to fit the parameters of a theme or turning point in history and was judged by 540 historians and education experts.
“It is a special honor to be a part of the 2024 National History Day national competition,” said Dr. Cathy Gaughan, National History Day Executive Director. “As we celebrate our organization’s 50th anniversary, students who participated in the national competition witnessed history first-hand. Students demonstrated incredible levels of critical thinking, analysis and research skills that will serve them well beyond their participation in NHD. We are proud of the students’ accomplishments in this year’s competition and look forward to seeing how they apply the skills they developed during their research to their future careers and lives.”
Birkemeier told the Democrat that he competed against 100 other students who performed in the junior division. In addition to winning, Birkemeier was also selected as one of nine students to perform in a showcase at the Smithsonian National Museum of History in Washington, D.C.
“It was a really fun experience,” Birkmeyer said. “It was so much fun coming up with ideas for the performance, documentary, papers, boards and website. We gathered materials and entered the competition. We learned about our subject and then learned about other subjects from everyone else’s projects – things we may never have learned if it wasn’t for National History Day. I was so honored to have competed at the national competition, competed against over 2,000 others and won. I’m so honored to have received this award on behalf of the state of Indiana, Brown County and Nashville, and I’m so happy to have received it.”
Birkemeyer said her family always participated in National History Day during their school years, so she grew up dreaming of one day being able to compete as well.
“I plan to continue until I graduate from high school and can no longer compete,” Birkemeyer said. “It’s gone just as well as I expected.”
Birkemeyer initially wanted to make a documentary for the competition, but decided that theater would be the best way to tell his story. His play, “Turning Point in History: The Legacy of the 10th Mountain Division,” is based on an account he heard as a child of his great-grandfather’s World War II experiences in the 10th Mountain Division.
“Performing was my favorite part,” Birkemeyer said. “I loved performing, and being able to tell my story to a judge and an audience on National History Day. My great-grandfather didn’t talk much about his experiences during World War II until he was much older, and even then he didn’t talk much. I loved getting the history out there and telling the stories he never got to tell.”
Birkemeyer was awarded the National Humanities Medal from the National Endowment for the Humanities, winning first place in his category and a $1,000 prize.
He said he was thrilled to win and is already looking forward to preparing for next year’s tournament.
