Twenty-six Mount Carmel juniors who participated in the annual Metro Chicago History Fair advanced to the regional competition which took place on Saturday, March 14, at the Illinois Institute of Technology.  Now the best of those projects are on the move again to compete downstate.

As in the past, this year’s participants had to adhere to specific requirements. Each student had the choice to create an exhibit, research paper, or documentary pertaining to Chicago’s history. Out of the entire group of junior projects, 14 exhibits, 9 research papers and 3 documentaries advanced to the regional level.

Projects were judged based upon four categories: historical knowledge on the topic and how effectively the story was told; appropriateness of research; analysis of the historical evidence and clarity of thesis; and finally on the presentation of the project.

Mount Carmel Assistant Principal Maryhelen Matijevic was pleased with this year’s projects.

“There’s always room for improvement, but we’re glad eight of our students excelled this far.”

Competing in the History Fair finals will be 8 of the 26 students who made it to the regionals. The research papers were written by Brendan Kelly, Emmanuel Reid, and Vincent Zarate; the four exhibits were created by Michael Baldridge, Curtis Howard, Gabriel LeBlanc, and Jordan Richardson; while the sole documentary came from C.J. Camacho.

Finals take place April 14th at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.