Recent Ft. Clarke Middle School graduate Jillian Counts is competing in this week’s National History Day National Contest with award-winning students from schools throughout the nation and even international schools.

Counts qualified for the prestigious competition by winning second place in the Junior Division Documentary category with an individual documentary called ‘The Riot Grrrl Movement: Born of Punk’s Contradictions.’ The documentary focused on the development of a safe space for women in the alternative music scene in the 1990s and the challenges the women faced.

The documentary was a culminating project Counts created while a student in the REACH (Research, Evaluate, Analyze, Communicate, Historical Perspective) program at Ft. Clarke, an academically rigorous course of study with a research-focused curriculum that emphasizes critical thinking and cooperative learning.

English-language arts teacher Amy Reed was one of Counts’ advisors in the REACH program, along with teacher Jacob Van Wagner.

“Producing the documentary was a significant and very complex undertaking,” said Reed. “Jillian was very passionate about her topic and did an amazing job. We’re very proud of her success.”

Besides producing the documentary, Counts had to present information and answer questions from judges about her research during both the state and national competitions. At nationals, Counts is competing for awards in the Equality in History and Women in History categories. Those awards are expected to be announced on Thursday, June 18.

The National History Day competition is being held at the University of Maryland, College Park. Nearly 3000 students are attending the week-long event, which will also give participants the opportunity to visit museums and historical sites in Washington, D.C. to learn about topics for the upcoming year’s History Day theme.