Community
4 November, 2023
History repeats for teens
IN their debut participation, two Smithfield State High School year 12 students have put the region’s history education under the spotlight after becoming best in the state at the Queensland History Teachers Association Historical Writing Competition.
Gracie Palmer, 17, and Daniel Walker, 18, have received the Queensland’s Best Investigation Assignment Award and second place in the year 12 essay category respectively, for their investigative history essays on the legacy of Mao Zedong and the Rwandan genocide.
Both students received a cash bursary to support their tertiary education.
Although her goal is to become a paramedic, Ms Palmer said her passion for analytical writing and the encouragement of her modern history and philosophy teacher Ms Dana Piryak led her to win the best investigative essay in the state.
“I was shocked. It was a great feeling knowing that the writing I’ve put so much effort in, actually came through, especially at a regional school,” Ms Palmer said.
Taking the second-best year 12 essay in Queensland for his analysis on the Rwandan genocide, Mr Walker said he was proud of the achievement.
“I’ve had a fascination for history since I was a kid and I think it’s very interesting how much you can learn from history,” he said.
“The competition was an idea from our awesome teacher Ms Piryak, she really helped to motivate us and put in our best effort and try as hard as we could." Mr Walker said writing the essay was more influential than he expected, especially learning about the touchy subject of genocide.
