Engineering/Science School Students Win State Championship at Connecticut History Day; Advance to Nationals

NEW HAVEN, CT — Engineering and Science University Magnet School students Titiladeolua Adeniran and Sahana Bhandary-Alexander placed first in the documentary category at the Connecticut History Day state competition held at Central Connecticut State University.

Students Titiladeolua Adeniran and Sahana Bhandary-Alexander placed first in the documentary category at the Connecticut History Day state competition.

Their winning project, "A Trial of Principles: Prudence Crandall’s Case for Education and the Legal Foundation of American Civil Rights," explores the 1833 struggle of schoolteacher Prudence Crandall to educate Black girls in Canterbury, Connecticut.

The documentary highlights how this local act of defiance laid the groundwork for the Fourteenth Amendment and the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision.

As state champions, Adeniran and Bhandary-Alexander will represent Connecticut at the National History Day competition at the University of Maryland, College Park, this June.

In their script, Adeniran and Bhandary-Alexander noted that "Crandall’s struggle reminds us that progress is rarely immediate."

"Change begins with individuals who are willing to stand up to injustice, even when it’s unprecedented," they wrote.

This achievement highlights the academic versatility of ESUMS students, who consistently excel in both rigorous STEM fields and high-level historical research.

"Titiladeolua and Sahana embody our school’s motto to ‘Imagine, Investigate, and Invent,’" said faculty adviser Eve Galanis. "We are incredibly proud to have them representing our school and our state on the national stage."