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By Eleanor Schmerler-Rich ’09
Vice President of Growth, Regina Dominican High School

May 8, 2024, Wilmette, Illinois – Six students from Regina Dominican High School competed at the Illinois State History Fair April 24, 2024, in Springfield, Illinois. Four students qualified for nationals, to be held in College Park, Maryland, June 9-12, 2024.

The students competed in three categories: exhibit, website, and performance. Junior Vivienne Hartman’s website on the Flu Pandemic of 1918 was the first website from Regina Dominican to advance to state finals. Sophomore Cora Frieswyk entered under the performance category, presenting research on the Russian Revolution. She represents the first non-Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. History student to advance to the state competition. 

A highlight of the day came when sophomores Sofia Ujiki, Mara Swabb, Joy Marie Giyo, and Marijana Tomasicyk qualified for nationals with their exhibit on the Murder of Emmett Till. While attending the Nationals, the four students will have the opportunity to explore Washington, D.C., and interact with 3,000 other students from across the United States. 

Emmett, a 14-year-old African American boy from Chicago, was tortured, lynched, and murdered by two white men when, during a trip to Mississippi in 1955, he was accused of offending a white woman. His open-casket funeral – which showed the brutality he suffered – helped to strengthen the civil rights movement. 

"These four Panthers have worked incredibly hard on this exhibit over the last six months,” said Andy Michalek, Regina Dominican history teacher. “Their dedication and attention to detail were unmatched, making their success inevitable. The group utilized Regina Dominican legend Mike Small, and his incredible knowledge regarding the Emmett Till case and also his Till family connections, to further enrich their project. I can't wait to see what they accomplish in Washington, D.C."

More than 10,000 students in Illinois compete in the history fair. Only a few hundred advance to state, and only two projects from each category are selected to represent Illinois in the national competition. 
 

*Photo Courtesy of Regina Dominican High School