Our Staff

Dr. Hailey Hancock

Co-coordinator of NHD MT

Education

• PhD, Curriculum and Instruction, Montana State University-Bozeman
• MAT, Colorado College
• BA, History/PoliSci, Colorado College

Current Teaching Position

• Assistant Teaching Professor in the Education Dept. at MSU-Bozeman

Connection to Montana

• My parents are Montanan's, so I grew up visiting extended family in Broadus, in Helena, and attending a summer camp in Lincoln.
• I met my husband, who is from Great Falls, in middle school at the camp in Lincoln.
• After college and teaching in Colorado, we moved to Bozeman in 2014.

Favorite NHD Moments:

• Having students of all ability levels successfully create NHD projects—they teach us about topics they're passionate about.
• Creating a unit for my districts' 8th grade social studies curriculum focused on NHD, so that all 8th graders could engage in NHD and historical inquiry.
• Travelling with students to regionals, state, and nationals. It is so true that "History Day is more than just a day"!

Why NHD Matters and Why I am Motivated to bring NHD back to Montana

Hailey is passionate about leading NHD MT because she wants all secondary students to see how history impacts us today, and for students to have the opportunity to truly act as historians. NHD teaches skills that go far beyond the classroom including research skills, critical thinking, and communication. The travel opportunities through NHD can be life-changing for both students and teachers. I want to support Montana's social studies and humanities teachers in curriculum, instruction, and educational travel.

Dr. Melissa Hibbard

Co-coordinator of NHD MT

Education

• PhD, History, University of Illinois at Chicago
• MA, History, University of Illinois at Chicago
• BA, History/Psychology, Carroll College

Current Position

• Montana Historical Society, Interpretive Historian

Connection to Montana

• I grew up in the small communities of Whitehall and Silver Star in southwest Montana.
• I attended elementary school in Whitehall, junior high and high school in Twin Bridges, and senior year at Butte Central.
• I graduated from Carroll College with a bachelors in History and Psychology. 
• I returned to Montana in 2020 after being out of state for 13 years. 

Favorite NHD Moments:

• Fits of laughter with students as we learned how to properly format footnotes.
• Sharing chocolate and cookies during the final, furious push to edit projects before the submission deadline.
• After the city competition, all club members showed up to support their two “teammates” who were revising projects for the state competition.

Why NHD Matters and Why I am Motivated to bring NHD back to Montana

Despite attending three Montana schools from grades K-12, I never heard about History Day until years later when studying for my history PhD in Chicago. I judgedpapers for the Chicago City competition and remember thinking how much I would have loved to participate in history day when I was in school.In 2018, I started an after school History Club at Poly Prep Country Day in Brooklyn, New York. The five club members (7th and 8th grade students) created papers, a website, and a documentary. History Day allowed them to move beyond the textbook and actually do history. Beyond finding tremendous success at the New York City competition, the students expressed how much fun they had while growing as scholars and friends. I’m excited to revive History Day back in Montana and bring this experience to students across the state, especially in our rural communities.