Hannah Scott's National History Day Presentation Receives 7th in the Nation

June 22, 2013

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Hannah Scott, eighth grade TARGET student at Odessa Middle School, competed at the state level of National History Day competition on Saturday, April 20, 2013, at the University of Missouri-Columbia.  Her exhibit, Penicillin:  Wonder Drug of the Battlefront, Turning Point for Modern Medicine, took first place in the state of Missouri enabling her to advance to National Competition at the University of Maryland on June 9 - 13, 2013.  

Hannah made the trip to the University of Maryland to represent the State of Missouri and her home town of Odessa.  On Monday, June 10th, she was interviewed by the judges and then viewed the other students' exhibits on display. On Tuesday, June 11th, she went sightseeing in Washington, D.C., walked the National Mall and got to see many of the monuments as well as the White House and Capitol Building. To conclude the day she watched the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.

Before the national competition Hannah's project was selected to represent Missouri at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History where she spent all day Wednesday, June 12th, answering questions and visiting with the public about her exhibit. Part way through the day a museum curator from the medical department took her and several other NHD contestants to the private archives. She got to see up close several items pertaining to the discovery of penicillin including an original sample of Alexander Fleming's Penicillin notatum mold.  

Thursday morning, June 13th,  was the long awaited awards ceremony. There were 112 exhibits in Hannah's category created by students from all fifty states as well as from Guam, American Samoa, China, Korea, Southeast Asia and Washington, D.C. Hannah's exhibit about penicillin made the final round of judging and placed 7th in the nation!  Hannah was also awarded a medal for the Outstanding Missouri Junior Entry. 

Hannah stated, "This experience has been amazing and I have learned countless skills that will help me in my high school Career." 

Congratulations to this dedicated student on her outstanding achievement.