While Makenna Kutzshebauch was a student at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, one thing seemed almost certain — that she would qualify to compete in the National History Day competition.
Kutzschebauch of Benton, a member of ASMSA’s Class of 2026, had previously qualified to compete in the national competition sponsored by National History Day, an educational, nonprofit organization that promotes history and civics education. The competition is open to middle- and high-school students in five categories: papers, exhibits, performances, documentaries and websites. The categories are divided into junior and senior divisions along with individual and group divisions.
Kutzschebacuch had previously qualified for the national competition as both a sophomore and junior at ASMSA in the documentaries category, creating two short documentaries that focused on the creator of forensic dioramas and industrial radium exposure, respectively.
This year’s theme was “Revolution, Reaction, and Reform in History,” focusing on how revolutions and reforms across various areas have inspired reactions. Kutzschebauch created “Modern-Day Empires: How Walmart Revolutionized 20th Century Corporate Strategies to Dominate the World Market,” a documentary that focuses on the creation of the Walmart corporation and its market strategies that many think were revolutionary in how it has transformed how people shop, retailers operate and the supply chain works.
“I was inspired to focus on Walmart’s history after listening to a podcast about the company that touched on how its innovation and revolutionary tactics led it to become the empire it is today,” Kutzschebauch said. “The episode ignited my interest in the topic, and I sort of fell down a rabbit hole of the company’s history and the keys to its success. After learning how the company revolutionized distribution centers, took advantage of new technologies and emphasized maintaining low prices, I knew it would be the perfect tie-in to this year’s theme.”
Her film earned top honors at the Arkansas History Day competition in April, qualifying her for a third trip in a row to the national competition, which will be held June 14-18 at the University of Maryland, College Park. Contestants from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Department of Defense Schools in the Atlantic and international schools in China, Korea and elsewhere.
Kutzschebauch said she has been participating in National History Day competitions since the sixth grade.
“I’d like to think I’ve come a long way since that first project,” she said. “I’ve always been passionate about history and sharing stories, so being able to see my hard work pay off is really gratifying. National History Day has become a large part of my identity as a student and scholar, and I’ve met so many amazing people through it and developed so many skills through participation. I am beyond grateful for this opportunity to compete at nationals again.”
As she approached this year’s project, Kutzschebauch tried to applied the lessons she’s learned from her previous participation in the national competitions. That included the importance of narrowing her focus topic and keeping the project concise, which isn’t always easy, particularly for a subject like Walmart.
“When you’re researching for a project of this scale, it is really easy to want to include every fascinating piece of history you find along the way,” she said. “I’ve learned that projects that hone in on a specific aspect of a topic have a greater impact than those that try to accomplish a broad overview of the topic’s history. The hardest thing about making these documentaries is the 10-minute time limit, and I’ve put in a lot of work to maximize the lesson a viewer can take away from watching it.”
Kutzschebauch plans to attend Tulane University this fall and major in anthropology. She’s now sure if documentary filmmaking is in her future, however.
“I have strongly considered pursuing documentary filmmaking in the future, but as of right now, it doesn’t factor into many of my life plans. While it’s something I remain passionate about and I may someday return to, I currently have plans to become a forensic anthropologist,” she said.
To learn more about the National History Day competition, visit nhd.org/en/contest/.