Two Bennington students win National History Day award, get project in Library of Congress

Two middle school students from Bennington brought home an award from the National History Day competition this summer.

Seventh graders Payton Combes and Valeriya Bridgeford won the Discovery or Exploration in History award for their project on geographer Blair Niles, who was a founding member of the Society of Woman Geographers. Combes said it was an amazing experience.

“It felt euphoric knowing that we had just won an award out of all the junior categories, like hundreds of other topics that could have been picked, ours won,” Combes said. “It felt amazing being able to represent Bennington, Nebraska, up on a real stage.”

The pair — like many of the competitors — had been working on their project since September. They competed in the junior group performance category, which included a script, set and costumes.

“We were going up against people who probably had more experience than us,” Bridgeford said. “I had thoughts going through my head like, ‘What if they're better than us?’ But normally, I just push those aside.”

In addition to the competition in Maryland, Combes and Bridgeford met members of the Society of Woman Geographers. They also visited the Library of Congress and saw historical documents not open to the public, like a journal from another founding geographer of the society, Gertrude Emerson Sen, and a handprint from Amelia Earhart.

The two also recorded a video of their performance that will go on the society’s website, and will be preserved in the Library of Congress with other records from the Society of Woman Geographers.

“I never thought I'd be in the Library of Congress,” Combes said. “I never really saw myself in that spot, and now I can say I made it.”

Combes and Bridgeford said through Niles’ story, they learned women can do a lot, including keeping a society going for more than a century.

“Her society, they weren't just guests in the field of exploration geography,” Bridgeford said. “They were the ones who really led it.”

Their advice to other students their age is to always keep pushing, even when they feel frustrated.

“Don't get frustrated when things get hard,” Bridgeford said. “I got frustrated a lot, but I pushed through it, and we got here. It's just honestly really amazing.”

Combes and Bridgeford are looking forward to enjoying their summer, and when September rolls around again, the two are excited to start work on another project for the National History Day competition.