To senior Tiger Song, this competition was personal in more ways than one.

Tiger earned first place this summer in the National History Day competition for his paper on the 1911 Sichuan Railway Protection Movement, which he called "a triggering event for the collapse of the Qing dynasty in China and the end of China’s 2,000-year-long legacy of imperial rule."

He said he chose the topic because his father is from Sichuan. "Although I’ve never lived there for long periods, I’m proud to call myself a Sichuanese," Tiger said. "Writing this essay felt different. ... I was writing about my own ancestors and their lives. I specifically got the idea of writing about Sichuan’s railroads during a weeklong road trip through the province I had with my dad two summers ago. Throughout the journey, we encountered numerous railroads that cut through mountains, rivers, and cities. I began to wonder who built these railroads and how. That question became the starting point for the paper."

The end point: his name was called as the first-place winner in the senior "paper" category at ceremonies at the University of Maryland on June 18. That, too, was personal to Tiger. Two years ago, the last time he entered, he did not hear his name. "I took the result very hard," he said.

National History Day is a nonprofit organization that "seeks to improve the teaching and learning of history and engages more than half a million students each year in conducting original research on historical topics of interest," according to its website. Finalists first participate in local and state competitions involving students across the United States and around the world. Categories include documentary, exhibit, performance, website, and paper across junior and senior divisions. This year's theme — to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence — was "Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History."

In 2024, Tiger said he was expecting at least a top-10 finish. When he did not hear his name, he said he was so discouraged that he decided not to participate last year. 

"Coming back to the competition this year, I was determined to either win or accept defeat with grace," Tiger said. "Walking around the parade of the states, which is a parade composed of student competitors before the awards are announced, I told myself that I had given this paper my all. If I won, great. If I didn’t, then I had no regrets. I tried hard, and it is ultimately up to the judges to award the winner."

And then his name was not only called, but in the top spot.

"I felt extremely blessed and honored. But more importantly to me, this win gave me closure to my experience two years ago," Tiger said. "While it was great to have received this honor, I was at peace with whatever result before the ceremony. My second reaction was gratefulness for the people who gave me the opportunity to compete. For my mom, who traveled across the state and country to accompany me on these competitions. For my dad, who continued to challenge and build my paper with his deep knowledge of Chinese history. And for National History Day ... to continue to give students like me an opportunity to do the research I love." 

The 2,500-word essay was composed over eight months, Tiger said. "Most of that time wasn’t actually spent writing. I think the majority of that time was spent digging for primary sources — newspapers, court memoirs, and speeches — and translating them from classical Chinese into modern English."