Jericho Middle School educators Theresa Cantwell and Valerie Conklin have been selected as two of the 12 national fellows this year, after having participated in the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes’ National Discovery Awards for six years and counting.
“We feel honored,” said Cantwell, an eighth-grade teacher at the middle school.
The Kansas-based center offers various project-based competitions that encourage students to dive deep into an unsung hero’s story and explore the impact. As part of their fellowship, Cantwell and Conklin will attend a five-day conference in Kansas.
Both Cantwell and Conklin said they support the center’s mission to recognize unsung heroes and believe that students’ work has the power to make long-lasting effects.
Each Jericho seventh- and eighth-grade student completes a National History Day project as part of their curriculum, a program which Cantwell has spearheaded for 10 years. Cantwell’s work with the national competition inspired her to look for more competitions that students could participate in, which is how the school first got involved with the Lowell Milken Center, she said.
However, student interest in the competition expands beyond their mandated curriculum, with many students in the high school opting to participate as well.
Cantwell said students submit to three categories depending on the format of their project: documentaries, performances or websites. She said the different avenues can cater to students’ interests.
Cantwell said this is the third year that Jericho is represented at the fellowship conference since the school started participating in the center’s competition in 2019. In 2023, high school social studies teacher Konstantine Kovoros attended on behalf of the district and in 2024, seventh-grade social studies teacher Sarah Espinal attended.
This isn’t the first recognition that Cantwell has received this year, however. The eighth-grade social studies teacher was honored as the Long Island History Day Teacher of the Year.
“Theresa inspires her students to explore history in new ways and has led their development of winning projects in both the Lowell Milken Center National Discovery Award and National History Day competitions. Her leadership skills and expertise in project-based learning will be a valuable resource to share with our 2025 team of Fellows,” said the center’s executive director, Norm Conard.
Cantwell said she looks forward to learning more about how other school district programming approaches the conference and implementing new techniques in the Jericho curriculum. She said part of the trip involves creating next year’s curriculum and selecting heroes that have not been presented yet.
“It’s really a training program on how to teach students to work with primary sources, to find their sources, to find these unsung heroes,” Conklin said. She said she looks forward to the conference and is excited to be selected.
“Valerie’s enthusiasm for discovering the stories of Unsung Heroes in history has led to many winning national history projects for her students, including several Lowell Milken Center National Discovery Awards. Her passion for discovery and project development will greatly benefit our 2025 team of Fellows,” Conard said.
Because of her role in the library, Conklin said she has the opportunity to work with each student for three years, helping them find research materials.
“I get to see them grow and develop, and really develop those critical thinking skills,” she said.
Conklin said the competition allows students to explore primary sources, while drawing conclusions and showcasing their knowledge in a creative way.
Some students even interview witnesses and relatives of their heroes, she said.
“Even if the kids don’t win any awards, I often say ‘You could write a book based on all of this great research that you’ve done.’ They become experts at finding information,” Conklin said.
Conklin said she refers to the students as “junior historians” throughout the course of their projects.
Cantwell said the National History Day and Lowell Milken submission projects are made possible by the entire history department which supports the programs, including Curriculum Associate Eric Sundber and teachers James Lawler, Michelle Vevante, Marci Kivo, Pamela Travis, Laura Suchpar, Sarah Espinal, Randi Sambursky, Brian Dussel and Konstantine Kovoros.
“We work collaboratively,” Conklin said.
Conklin said one notable Lowell Milken Center project was the organization’s first one, which focused on Irena Sendler, a previously unknown activist and humanitarian who helped smuggle Jewish children out of the ghettos during World War II. Despite the fact that she was caught and tortured, she had not given up their names, Conklin said.
Although her work was not previously recognized, after a student presented a project on her activism at the Lowell Milken Center’s competition, people began to learn more about her work, Conklin said. She said now there are books and movies chronicling her life.
The project, though it was not completed by a Jericho student, showcases what the organization aims to do, Conklin said.
“That’s the power of that kind of research. That’s the power that even children have to make a difference,” she said.
