SALT LAKE CITY - Kate De Groote, a 10^th-grader at Skyline High School, has been selected as a 2017 Student Ambassador by The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana. As an ambassador, Kate will be trained to collect oral history interviews from members of the World War II generation, including veterans and others involved in the war effort. De Groote’s interviews will become part of the permanent oral history collection at The National WWII Museum.

 “It is an amazing opportunity to record personal stories that have not been heard,” said De Groote. “I am very interested in World War II and the unknown stories of what the veterans experienced. I hope to interview female participants in WWII and get their unique perspective and contributions.”

The student ambassador program is a partnership between The National WWII Museum and National History Day (NHD).  More than 16 million Americans served in WWII, and countless more assisted and served on the Home Front. Yet today, less than 1 million WWII veterans remain in America. The NHD WWII Student Ambassador Program was established as a means to preserve the stories of the surviving members of the WWII generation.

De Groote is a seasoned NHD student, whose original historical performance on Joan of Arc earned her a spot on Utah’s national team for the 2016 National History Day contest, held in June at the University of Maryland. 

NHD challenges students in grades 4-12 to do real historical research, draw evidence-based conclusions, and then create an exhibit, documentary, performance, website, or paper to showcase their work. The best projects in Utah advance from local competitions held statewide through the state and national contests.

Utah History Day (formerly called Utah History Fair) has operated continuously in Utah since 1980 and is the official National History Day affiliate for the state.  The program was originally developed and housed at Utah State University.  In 2014 it was transferred to the Utah Division of State History in Salt Lake City. "We could not be happier to provide a home for Utah's National History Day program," states Brad Westwood, Director of the Division of State History. "Students from any community in Utah can participate in this program, which helps cultivate a lifelong appreciation of history and heritage in our young people."  For more information, visithttps://heritage.utah.gov/history/utah-history-day.

National History Day (NHD) is a non-profit education organization in College Park, MD. Established in 1974, NHD offers year-long academic programs that engage over half a million middle- and high-school students around the world annually in conducting original research on historical topics of interest. These research-based projects are entered into contests at the local level; the top student projects have the opportunity to advance through affiliate contests to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park. NHD also seeks to improve the quality of history education by providing professional development opportunities and curriculum materials for educators. NHD is sponsored in part by Kenneth E. Behring, Patricia Behring, Jostens, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Park Service, Southwest Airlines, the Joe Weider Foundation, and the WEM 2000 Foundation of the Dorsey & Whitney Foundation. For more information, visit nhd.org.