A series to share #smiles across our community through the achievements of our local youth, brought to you by Olsen Orthodontics.
(Lander, WY) – Nora Strike and Alex Wise, Lander Middle School 8th graders, participated in the 2025 Wyoming History Day competition in Laramie this week.
This was the 45th Wyoming History Day, and this year’s competition theme was “Rights and Responsibilities.” Over 140 students from across Wyoming presented documentaries, papers, display panels, and performances on the theme.
Alex and Nora competed in the group documentary category against many other student documentaries.
They won first place in the Junior Division (Middle School) for their Documentary, called “The Right to Die: Balancing Individual Rights and Societal Responsibilities in History.”
In addition to the recognition for their work in Wyoming, Alex and Nora now have the opportunity to represent Wyoming by competing against students from across the country in June at National History Day in Washington D.C.
Alex and Nora also won one of the Wyoming event’s special awards, the “Jim Gatchell History of Science Award.” This award recognizes an outstanding project in the history of science, medicine, or technology.
“These bright young students choose a very mature and very difficult topic for their project,” said Lander Middle School Counselor and Lander History Day Coordinator Stacey Polson. “It was a subject that fit the theme of this year’s competition perfectly, and they worked extremely hard to pull together a powerful piece.”
Polson said that due to the school schedule the two only had a semester to work on the project, when normally students have a whole school year.
Hours of research on both sides of the subject, interviews with people in the medical field and those affected by end-of-life decisions, an exhaustive bibliography and process paper went into the project. After the judges viewed it, Alex and Nora had to answer the judge’s questions about their process, research, and opinions on the topic.
When asked why they chose this topic Alex said, “We looked at a lot of ideas, but felt this one was both historical and an issue people are still dealing with today. We didn’t know much about it at first, but learned how passionate people are on both sides of the issue, and what an emotional and difficult choice it is.”
This is the second National History Day that Alex and Nora have been to. Both qualified for nationals as sixth graders, representing Wyoming in 2023. Both are excited to go back and try to go further in the national competition.
Alex Wise is a straight A student. He competes on the LMS Cross-country team, the Nordic Ski Team, the Swim Team and the Track Team. He is also a member of the Lander Swim Club and competed at the state championship in Gillette this winter, helping Lander to a state championship.
Nora Strike is also a straight A student. She competes on the LMS Cross-Country team, the Nordic Ski Team and the Track Team.
Stacey Polson is an LMS counselor. She has been a part of Wyoming and National History Day for over twenty years, putting in countless hours helping students research and develop their projects.
Winning the state competition is only one part of the challenge. Alex and Nora now have to raise the funds for travel, lodging and fees to be able to go to the National Competition. Anyone interested in helping can contact Stacey Polson at the Middle School or Randy Wise at the Lander Pioneer Museum.
The above information and photos were provided to County 10 by Randy Wise.