H.G. Jones NC History Awards

Beginning in 1998, the North Caroliniana Society has furnished two cash prizes for winning student projects in statewide National History Day Competition administered by the North Carolina Office of Archives and History and the Federation of North Carolina Historical Societies. The prizes encourage the learning of history through research leading to papers, performances, or audiovisual productions. In the list below, the first recipient(s) represented the junior division (grades six through eight) and the second represented the senior division (grades nine through twelve):

2024 – 2025 Theme

Rights and Responsibilities in History

Lyla Varnum and Abigail Blair

Junior Division exhibit:

“Chords of Defiance: The Resistance of the Wilmington Ten” Students: Lyla Varnum and Abigail Blair of The International School at Gregory, New Hanover County (Teacher: Sarah Stepanski)

Fin McElwee and Suh Hee Shin

Senior Division performance:

“Silenced: How NC’s Public Employees Lost Their Voice” Students: Finn McElwee and Suh Hee Shin of Chapel Hill High School, Orange County (Teacher: Veena Anglin)

Previous Recipients

1998
Jenna and Kathryn Wooten, St. Peter’s School, Greenville; Jonathan Reside, E.E. Smith High School, Fayetteville.

1999
Megan Boskop, St. Peter’s School, Greenville; Eron Earley-Thiele, J.H. Rose High School, Greenville.

2000
Jennifer Wolfe, Cherokee Middle School; Amie Garner, J.H. Rose High School, Greenville.

2001
Emma Patti, A.C. Reynolds Middle School, Asheville; Amie and Ashley Garner, J. H. Rose High School, Greenville.

2002
Julia Lockamy, A.C. Reynolds Middle School, Asheville; Elia Bizzarri, Justice Street Home School, Pittsboro.

2003
Bryan Kossol, Jake Harrington, Matthew Miller, and Worth Williams, Greenville Elementary School; Emma Patti, Fairview High School.

2004
Stephen Gordon II, Four Oaks Home School, Asheville; Laura Sabato and Rebecca Webb, Owens High School, Black Mountain.

2005
Stephen Gordon II, Four Oaks Home School, Asheville; Kelsey Forrest and Emily Fusco, A.C. Reynolds High School Asheville.

2006
Allison Hill and Carly Cutspec, A.C. Reynolds Middle School, Asheville; Kelsey Forrest and Emily Fusco, A.C. Reynolds High School, Asheville.

2007
Teena Coates, Troi Perkins, and Lauren Carroway, Greene County Middle School, Snow Hill; Mary Withers, Owens High School, Swannanoa.

2008
Will Scarborough and Jonathan Tameellini, A.C. Reynolds Middle School, Asheville; Mary Barrett, A.C. Reynolds High School, Asheville.

2009
Helen Mary Hamilton, St. Peter’s Catholic School, Greenville; Stephen Gordon, Asheville Christian Academy.

2010
Maggie Sutton, Bryson City Middle School; Janna Peterson and Jamie Mitchell, Charles D. Owen High School, Asheville.

2011
Hannah Fletcher, Matt Fletcher, and Haddon Fox, St. Nicholas of Tolentine School, Raleigh; Molly Fox, Michaela Burns, and Emily Rundle, Raven Ridge Christian Academy.

2012
Matthew Shaw, Woodlawn School, Mooresville; Nicole Keyser, Swansboro High School.

2013
Amanda Biddix, Harris Middle School, Spruce Pine; Brigitte Butler, Sally Crouch, Breanne Elrod, and Sarah Schneider, Cape Fear Academy, Wilmington

2014
Alita White and Brittany Smith, E. B. Frink Middle School, La Grange; Erika Struble and Scott Swiger, Alamance Burlington Middle College, Graham.

2015
Dustin Kirby and Steven Futrell, Central Middle School, Gatesville; Courtney Staton, South Central High School, Winterville.

2016
Clara Hockenberry, Alden McCall, Journee McMinn, and Nelson Wiggins, Hendersonville Middle School, Hendersonville; Serena Chu, South Central High School, Winterville.

2017
Keith Bargar Jr., Chloe Conroy, and Matthew Canning, Immaculata Catholic School, Hendersonville; Joey Chong and Catherine McMillan, Providence High School, Charlotte.

2018
Tallulah Quinn, Rugby Middle School, Hendersonville; Bryce Herring, Wayne School of Engineering, Goldsboro.

2019
Slate Freeman, The Woodlawn School, Mooresville; Lauren Fritzsche and Brady Farlow, Oak Grove High School, Winston-Salem.

2020
Sheel Patel and Max Wang, Wilmington Academy of Arts and Sciences; Sufia Farooqi, The Early College at Guilford

2021
Webb Evans, Saint Peters Catholic School, Greenville. (Teacher: Joe Hughes); Isabella Hardy, Gryphon Academy, Boone (homeschool/Teacher: Elizabeth Hardy)

2022
Alyssa Mitchem, Anna Peterson, Kendall Golding and Taylor Pike, Millennium Charter Academy, Surry County (Teacher: Anderson Rouse); IClaire Ledford, Creekwood Academy, Lee County (Teacher: Carmen Cox)

2023
Elliot Askins, Hickory Grove Christian School, Charlotte (Teacher: Erin Askins); Reese Donovan, James Robles, Huntington Anderson, and Frank Averitt, New Hanover High School, Wilmington (Teacher: Chadwick Goins)

2024
Zipporah Tunnage and Olivia Stetler of Holly Shelter Middle School, New Hanover County (Teacher: Jeffrey Stanek); Isabella Hardy, homeschool student in Avery County (Teacher: Elizabeth Hardy)

2025
Lyla Varnum and Abigail Blair of The International School at Gregory, New Hanover County (Teacher: Sarah Stepanski); Finn McElwee and Sue See Shin of Chapel Hill High School, Orange County (Teacher: Veena Anglin)