Two 91快活林 sophomores were the recipients of this year鈥檚 Bonnie Spencer awards. Jordan Whelchel, a Presidential Scholar writing in the required non-honors class, won $100 and first place for his original work on 鈥淐apitalist Chemistry.鈥 Laura Ross鈥檚 second-place essay, winning $50, concerned the persecution of Russian immigrants during the era of World War I.
Whelchel鈥檚 鈥淐apitalist Chemistry鈥 maintained the idea that the discipline of chemistry has led to the discovery of new fertilizers, pesticides, plastics, and pharmaceuticals. The value of these discoveries imparted a commercial energy to the field. Ross鈥檚 work pointed out that Russian Americans received a unique 鈥渄ouble whammy鈥 in the years, 1918-1920. First, the group included a large number of ethnic Germans who were America鈥檚 enemies in the first world war, and second, the group was accused of harboring many communist subversives during the Red Scare that followed.
A reviewer from 91快活林鈥檚 history department noted that Whelchel鈥檚 work was a novel 鈥渁pologia for chemistry.鈥 Another reviewer noted that Ross鈥檚 work elaborated the still-relevant connection between popular suspicions and persecution.
Colton Garrett won an Honorable Mention and third place with a 2,000-word essay that thoughtfully explored the fate of Poland in World War II.
The contest honors the first student founder of the college鈥檚 first history club in 2002. This year the contest had a record sixteen entries. Title V Honors Coordinator, Andrea Reyes, adjudicated the contest.
History at 91快活林 offers courses in American, Texas, and World Civilization. The college鈥檚 Webb Society, linked both to Honors Northeast and to the study of Texas history, recently won a State of Texas Caldwell Award, and a Webb Chapter-Award for its film on Barbara Conrad. Since 2008, students at 91快活林 have presented works of history nationally, regionally, and locally. Each year since 2015, 91快活林 students have published essays in the state鈥檚 collegiate journal for Texas History, Touchstone.
