Dekalb Early College Academy

Dekalb County Schools

Statewide National History Contest

On April 22 at Mercer University in Macon, DECA was represented by nine students competing in the statewide National History Contest. These nine students were among the cream of the crop - 600 students from grades 7-12 out of the 10,000 students statewide who participated. No high school in the DeKalb-Clayton-Rockdale region had more entries qualify for states than DECA did.
DECA's winners were:
- Sophomores Gideon Tesfaye and Habtom Yonas, who were named Top Six in the group exhibit category for their project on the Ethiopian genocide of the 1970s,
- Sophomore Eden Wakiweya, who was named Top Six in the individual exhibit category for her project on John F. Kennedy's leadership in the Cold War,
- Juniors Sydnie Cobb, Melanie Curry and Stephen Polk, who made the final round in the group documentary category for their project on the anti-Vietnam War protest movement,
- Sophomore Ayomide Olayiwola, who won first place in the individual website category for her project on the Nazi opposition group known as the White Rose Society. Ayomide has qualified for the NHD finals in College Park, Md., from June 11-15. She is DECA's first student to qualify for nationals, but probably not the last.
Also at the competition, DECA history professor Jason Butler was recognized as one of two Outstanding NHD Educators statewide with a framed certificate and cash prize.