Two students in Vancouver win national history prize

VANCOUVER, Wash. — Two Vancouver middle school students have won a national history prize.

The Columbian reported that the Pleasant Valley Middle School students finished first in their division at National history Day for their documentary on Vietnam War prisoners of war.

The 14-year-old students — Jethro Abatayo and Logan Gibert — interviewed Vietnam POWs and spent about 600 hours producing their 10-minute documentary.

More than a half-million students across the country participate in National History Day at the regional level. About 3,000 students, including three teams from Pleasant Valley Middle School, advanced to the national competition at the University of Maryland in College Park.

Pleasant Valley Middle School teacher Irene Soohoo has supported her students’ participation in the event for 25 years. Many have placed first at the state competition and several have placed at nationals, but this is the first time any of her students have won a first place national award.

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