Phoebe Jones, a Starkville High School sophomore, won first place in the Senior Group Exhibit category of Mississippi History Day with her project on Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and his connection to the Hebrew language. The competition, which allows students to choose topics from across various subjects, encourages research and critical-analysis skills through historical data collection and presentation.
Mississippi History Day is a program that helps students improve their research skills by having them find and review primary and secondary sources from archives, museums, libraries, and credible historic websites. Students then design an original argument about their topic to present at judges on the regional level for the opportunity to compete at the state competition.
The organization’s national competition has been impacted by funding cuts, but the Mississippi Department of Archives and History will continue to host its state contest this year. The national contest incurs fees from the University of Maryland, which is hosting the event.
Despite the uncertainty about the future of the national contest, many educators see benefits in programs like Mississippi History Day. Tougaloo Early College High School teacher Alexandria Drake says the competition allows students to explore topics they’re interested in and move beyond state standards. Four of her students qualified for the 2025 state competition, including Taja Mock-Muhammand, who presented a website showcasing information on Hawaii’s annexation.
Cochran, who participated in the contest as a student, says it changed her life by rediscovering her passion for history and helping others discover their own. Mississippi earned its first-ever first-place win in an international competition last year, and Cochran encourages supporters to donate and lobby members of Congress to reinstate funding.
Source: https://www.mississippifreepress.org/mississippi-history-day-lets-students-discover-the-past-beyond-textbooks-but-national-competition-defunded