DSISD students earn top-five finish at national History Day competition in Maryland

Dripping Springs ISD students Grant Gillum and Nora Gillum each claimed top-five finishes at the National History Day Contest held June 9-13 at the University of Maryland.

Nora Gullum, a seventh grader at Dripping Springs Middle School, placed fourth in the Junior Individual Website category with her site, “Poisoned Pills: How the 1982 Tylenol Scare Was a Turning Point in Consumer Safety.” Gullum competed against middle school students from across the country as well as Korea, Singapore and the U.S. territories. Her work included archival research at the National Archives, information requests to federal agencies, and a personal interview with the general counsel of Johnson & Johnson during the 1982 Tylenol scare. Her sponsor was Dripping Springs Middle School teacher Kristen Miller.

Grant Gillum, a four-time state champion and rising junior at Dripping Springs High School, finished fifth in the Senior Individual Website category with his website, “Fueling Victory: How the Inch Pipelines Became a Turning Point in World War II.” Gilllum won third place competing against students from across the United States as well as Finland, Vietnam, Korea and Guam.This was his third top-five finish at the national competition. Grant’s work included archival research at the National Archives and the Briscoe Center at the University of Texas at Austin, for which he won the Best Use of Texas Archival Collections award at the state contest. He also obtained a student leadership grant from the Dripping Springs Education Foundation to support historical research and travel to the national contest. His sponsor was Dripping Springs High School teacher Kibbie Jensen.

Nora and Grant joined more than 600,000 students globally who completed projects in one of five categories (documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website) related to the 2024 theme: Turning Points in History. They both qualified for the national competition after claiming state titles at the Texas History Day Contest in May. The top students from all 50 states, Washington D.C., U.S. territories, and international schools are invited to compete in the National History Day Contest.