NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University’s School of Social Sciences and Applied Programs hosted students from schools in surrounding parishes for the 58th annual Region IV Social Studies Fair Feb. 3. Students exhibited almost 70 individual and group projects in a wide variety of fields, including anthropology, economics, geography, history, Louisiana history, political science and sociology. Faculty from NSU’s School of Social Sciences and Applied Programs served as judges for the competition, which included elementary and middle school divisions. First and second place winning entries are eligible to compete at the Louisiana State Social Studies Fair in Lake Charles.
Division 1 (Grades 4-5) categories with first and second place winners are as follows.
Anthropology (Individual)
First place, Emmalyn Brooks, St. Frances Cabrini
Second place, Jaxson Butler, St. Frances Cabrini
Anthropology (Group)
Morgan Brown and Maci Reeves, Horseshoe Drive Elementary
Economics (Group)
London Frazier and Elijah Brown, Horseshoe Drive Elementary
Geography (Individual)
First place, Rosalyn Burks, Natchitoches Magnet
Second place, Camryn Vance, Natchitoches Magnet
Geography (Group)
Ed’Mira Johnson and Erica Dempsey, Horseshoe Drive Elementary
History (Individual)
First place Amelia Cook, St. Frances Cabrini
Second place, Jermall Pikes, East Natchitoches
History (Group)
First place, Karlei Hall and Trust Hall, Horseshoe Drive Elementary,
Second place, Jaide Smith and Paris Frazier, Horseshoe Drive Elementary
Louisiana History (Individual)
First place, Kinsley Sward, St. Frances Cabrini
Second place, Kadence Swart, St. Frances Cabrini
Louisiana History (Group)
Kevin Turner and Daniel Christmas, Horseshoe Drive Elementary
Political Science
First place, Adrian Garcia, St. Frances Cabrini
Second place, Jace Lair, St. Frances Cabrini
Sociology
First Place, McKinzy Bolden, East Natchitoches Elementary
Second place, Lamaya Wright, East Natchitoches Elementary
Division 2 (Grades 6-8) categories with first and second place winners were as follows.
Anthropology
First place, Rosaley McCroskey, St. Frances Cabrini
Second place, Colin Parrish, Holy Savior Menard
Economics (Individual)
First place, Jack Dailey, Holy Savior Menard
Second place, Miguel Delacruz, St. Frances Cabrini
History (Individual)
First place, Phillip Mullin, St. Frances Cabrini
Second place, Sawyer Brown, Holy Savior Menard
Louisiana History (Individual)
First place, Madeline Francis, Holy Savior Menard
Second place, Charlee Fee, St. Frances Cabrini
Political Science
First place, Jacques Roy, Holy Savior Menard
Second place, Zephyr Basco, St. Frances Cabrini
Sociology
First place, Isabelle Simons, Holy Savior Menard
Second place, Abigail Greenbaum, St. Frances Cabrini
Northwestern has played an important role in the Social Studies Fair since 1966, when it was created as a separate event from the State Science Fair program. The director of the State Science Fair that year was Dr. James L. Roades, associate professor of chemistry at Northwestern State College. Northwestern hosted the inaugural Region IV Social Studies Fair in 1967 and continues to host the event today.
“The Social Studies Fair represents a unique opportunity to celebrate social studies and to introduce students and their families to NSU and its faculty. This is an exciting time for the NSU School of Social Sciences and Applied Programs,” said Department Head Dr. Mark Melder. “As Universities and degree programs around the state face enrollment challenges, NSU’s Bachelor of Arts program in History celebrated a 6 percent increase from Spring 2023 to Spring 2024.”
Now in its 82nd year, the NSU history program has made numerous changes to enhance real-world learning experiences for its students, Melder said. Last year, history faculty designed and implemented a new public history internship class for history majors. The 100-hour (3 credit hour) internship is structured to allow students to experience working in historical settings including archives, museums, oral history projects and heritage sites. To date, NSU students have completed internships at Melrose on the Cane Historic House, Los Adaes State Historic Site, the Central Louisiana African American Historical Society and the Cane River National Heritage Area.
Information on NSU’s Department of Social Sciences and Applied Programs is available at https://www.nsula.edu/ssap/ and the School’s Facebook Page, https://www.facebook.com/NSULASocialSciences. Contact Karen Pichon at pichonk@nsula.edu for details.
