Help me go to Washington D.C for Nationals!

Hi, my name is Celeste and I’m an 8th grader at Southern Hills Middle School. I have been selected to compete in the Junior Division at nationals for my National History Day project titled "The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: How a Tragedy Sparked New Frontiers” in Washington DC this June.

This is a crazy accomplishment for me and I can’t believe I’ve made it this far. I’ve been working on my project since Fall of 2022. To get to this point I had to compete and medal at the school level, regional level and state level… And now I’ve been invited to Washington D.C.! I am so excited to go and I’m trying to raise the funds to make it happen. I would be grateful for any support because this means a lot to me.

I’m so excited to have this experience. Only two people from each category get to move on to Nationals from State. I will be representing the State of Colorado! I have never been to Washington D.C., or the east coast for that matter, and I can honestly hardly believe I’m getting to go. I will even get to meet with our State Senators in their Senate offices.

For those who don’t know about National History Day, it is an annual project based competition for students in grades 6-12 and receives entries from all 50 states. My mom describes it to people as “...like the Science Fair but for history.” More than half a million students have participated in National History Day this year alone. This process has been both really fun and extremely challenging because I’ve had to stay up many late nights creating my exhibit, writing the accompanying papers and practicing my interviews. And even though it’s been difficult at times I am so happy I have experienced really getting to know a subject in this way. Here’s a little background about my project: In 1911, during the second industrial revolution, 146 garment workers died by fire in the Triangle Shirtwaist Building in New York City as the direct result of unsafe working conditions. The public reaction of shock, grief, and outrage following this tragedy would later inspire the creation of workplace safety laws saving countless future lives. This pivotal moment in history is why today all buildings need to follow fire codes and safety precautions.

https://nhd.org/en/about/