History Club Competes for First Time at State Level

The OES History Club competed at the state level for the first time this year, and they learned much about history and competition along the way.

The History Club was founded last year by Reid K. ’26 and Stuart Y. ’26. The other members are Joel G. ’27, Richard M. ’27, Lucy N. ’27, Carol H. ’27, and Zach T. ’28. Reid shared, “Stu and I founded History Club to be a space for students to pursue their passions in history in a manner that may not be possible inside the classroom.”

This year, the group decided to compete in Oregon History Day, an annual competition hosted by the Oregon Historical Society in Salem each April. 

At the start of the school year, they identified projects they wanted to work on for the contest.

Reid, Stu, Joel, Richard, and Zach created a documentary about the nuclear catastrophe that occurred in Kyshtym in 1957. This accident is not widely known, but it is second only to the Chernobyl disaster in the amount of radioactivity released. 

The team created a 10-minute video documentary about the Kyshtym incident. Reid and Stu did research, Rich focused on the technology and gathered photos, Zach worked on the audio, and Joel was the content writer.

The other two club members competed in the individual exhibition category. 

Lucy said, “My project was about smear campaigns outside gender laws. I compared the trial of Martha Corey from the Salem witch trials with the most recent presidential campaign.”

Carol shared, “I focused on the Miss America Protest in 1968. It was a fun opportunity to explore my interest in history, especially feminist history, by examining how the event challenged restrictive gender norms and beauty standards.”

Their club advisor, Stephanie Portman, Upper School history teacher, said, “This club was very student driven. It’s impressive to see a group of students from different grade levels all come together to work on a common interest, almost completely independently.”

The students went to Salem on April 19 for Oregon History Day and participated in a 15-minute panel interview as part of the judging process. Though they didn’t place, the club members gained valuable experience from creating their projects and from the competition, and they will use the feedback they received to inform their process next year.

Reid shared, “If we weren’t a group of students from OES, I don’t think we would have done as well as we did. We know how to work together in small teams and how to manage our time. Everyone worked really hard, and I see a lot of potential for this group.” Others in the club agreed that sharing group ideas in classes helped them improve those abilities.

“Club members build on their communication and time management skills that they have developed in their classes,” said Portman. “We had some fun Sunday planning sessions at my house,” Joel shared.

The club is planning to apply to make history an activity, which will give them more time to work on their projects during the school day.

“We’re genuinely excited to see how History Club continues to grow next year and beyond,” said Reid. “What began as a shared passion for history has become something much deeper. While that passion remains the foundation of our club, what sets us apart is the commitment we have to each other’s success, both academically and personally. The culture we’ve built mirrors that of a dedicated sports team: we coordinate, we take on responsibilities, and we work together toward a common goal. That sense of teamwork and shared purpose is what makes History Club so special, and why I hope it remains a part of OES long after I graduate.”