The Marshalltown High School Extended Learning Program (XLP) teacher, who has led the National History Day (NHD) program for the last 25 years, was recently recognized as the Iowa Senior Division NHD Teacher of the Year at the state competition in Des Moines on April 29.

This year, two MHS projects are headed to nationals in College Park, Md. — a tandem performance from juniors Isaac Seberger and Isaac Benscoter on the post-World War I Bonus Army and an exhibit on the first woman to run the Boston Marathon, Kathrine Switzer, who was infamously assaulted by race organizer Jock Semple, from sophomore Anessa Morrison.

Fritzell’s involvement with NHD has taken her all over the country both for national competitions and trips like the one she took to Hawaii with Leticia Herrera in the summer of 2022 to learn more about Pearl Harbor and deliver a eulogy for Eugene Stegmann, a Marshalltown native who died in the Pacific Theater just a few weeks before the Japanese surrender.

In discussing the latest round of projects chosen for the national competition, Fritzell commented that Benscoter, Seberger and Morrison were all “really driven” as a result of last year’s success, when a group exhibit, a group performance and an individual performance all qualified.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO — MHS sophomore Anessa Morrison has advanced to the national NHD competition for her exhibit titled “Running Towards Gender Equality,” which is focused on Kathrine Switzer and her historic run in the 1967 Boston Marathon as the first ever registered female competitor in the event.

“You never know (for sure). I thought we had a chance, but like I was telling Anessa, sometimes sports topics they don’t like. I had prepared Anessa not to do well,” Fritzell said.

Benscoter said Fritzell actually recommended the Bonus Army to them as a topic as she felt that it fit the theme of “Turning Points in History,” and he and Seberger also thought it would be relatively easy to perform with two males. The duo did become more interested in the topic the more they researched it, however, and they played multiple characters including the only Iowa native to ever serve as president, Herbert Hoover.

For Morrison, a runner herself, the fact that her father Matt ran the Boston Marathon this year lent itself naturally to the topic she chose, and she even had the chance to meet Switzer when the family traveled to the event back in April. She said her project was almost the opposite of her classmates: she was already personally passionate about Switzer’s and then found a way to make it relevant to the theme later.

Switzer and a few other women were holding a book signing when Morrison introduced herself and had the chance to ask questions for the project.

“It was very unique and very unexpected. She was so gracious with her time. She was so interested, very kind. I asked her a couple questions regarding Title IX because that’s kind of what my project gears toward, and she was very gracious. Very awesome,” Morrison said.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO — The MHS duo of Isaac Benscoter, left, and Isaac Seberger, right, have advanced to the national NHD competition for their performance based on the “Bonus Army” demonstrators, a group of World War I veterans, their families and supporters who marched on Washington in 1932 to demand early cash redemption of their service bonus certificates.

The fact that their coach was recognized meant a lot to all three of the competitors, and Seberger talked about the impact Fritzell has had on the program in Marshalltown.

“She really cares for us, and she’s been around the block as far as NHD goes. She knows how to fit the bill of the topic for the year and what things should look like as far as annotated bibliographies and exhibit boards and performances and how much acting you should have and just what everything should look like,” he said. “Well seasoned, lots of experiences, she just really cares.”

Benscoter was actually the student who nominated Fritzell for the award, and he couldn’t think of anyone more deserving.

“She’s super helpful. She doesn’t do our projects for us, but she’s always there to give us assistance when we need it (and is) just super interested in what we’re doing. It’s not just something that she’s proctoring because it’s part of her job,” he said. “She’s really interested in it. She’s always enthusiastic about it, always hoping that we do well and is always focused on us learning more rather than us just winning a competition. She wants us to get something out of it.”

Morrison also appreciates her ability to provide valuable assistance without taking that too far as Benscoter commented that he met a student from another school at the state competition whose grandmother wrote his entire bibliography for him.

“If anything, it just gives us more confidence knowing that we made a better project than their college-educated parents did, and that’s largely attributed to Ms. Fritzell and the help that she gives us in the process of learning how to create these projects,” Benscoter said.

Fritzell, on the other hand, was quick to heap the praise back on her students.

“It also takes passion from these guys. They’re doing this for no credit, no grade. It’s out of the love of learning, which is awesome,” she said.

They all agree on how valuable the NHD program is, and while they keep busy with other activities — Benscoter recently qualified for the state doubles meet in tennis — they hope MHS students will consider giving it a try.

“For high schoolers to be able to be writing bibliographies and process papers in the form that they’re at the level, if you do it well, where it’s very similar to that of a higher level undergrad or graduate class project that you would create, so it’s that experience you get doing that,” Benscoter said. “It’s not something I would recommend to every kid because a lot of students aren’t capable of that. Maybe they aren’t gonna go to college, so maybe it’s not (the) experience they need. But for a lot of kids, I think it’s a super valuable thing to learn how to do.”

As Seberger noted, learning more about the history of the U.S. and the world along the way is an added benefit along with the competitive aspect that NHD brings into the equation, and Morrison is excited about the skills she’s gained through the process.

“When I’m doing these projects, like Isaac said, it’s those skills that you’re gonna use in the future. And I want to grow in that aspect and learn to be a better writer,” she said.

Benscoter plans to attend college and continue his tennis career, while Seberger is tentatively set on heading to UNI and studying nursing. Morrison isn’t sure, but like Seberger, she’s angling toward something in the medical field. The national competition in Maryland will be held from June 9-13.