PINE MOUNTAIN CLUB, Calif. (KERO) — Each year since fourth grade, Alekha Goldberg has been participating in the National History Day contest where over a year, participants research, prepare, and present their project.
In a school of just 55 students, Alekha not only placed first at a school level, but also in the Kern County and California state competitions.
These wins brought her to Maryland to compete nationally against nearly 3,000 students, reaching across all 50 states plus American schools abroad. And there, Alekha took the win.
23ABC Neighborhood Reporter asked, “What was your reaction when you found out?”
Alekha responded, “I jumped up because there was kind of a pause… They were like from Pine Mountain and then they’re like ‘C-L-B. I don’t know what that stands for’… I kind of walked sideways to the row cause there were people and I was kind of shocked. And then they finished, and I knew for sure it was me, cause I didn’t wanna start walking before they finished my name, that’d be a little awkward. But I was like hey, I don’t think there’s anyone else from Pine Mountain Club here that I know.”
Alekha’s project was “Returning Blue Lake: the Confluence of Rights, Responsibilities, and Social Justice.”
She tells me that in 1906, Blue Lake was illegally taken away from the Taos Puebloans, a tribe native to New Mexico.
“They got their lot taken away illegally and this lake was very sacred to them,” said Alekha. “But after 64 years of them going to court and saying, ‘we want our lake back,’ they finally got returned. And it set a precedent helping other tribes get their land returned. And most importantly they also got the religious freedom back because it got taken away when they lost their lake.”
Alekha thanks her friends, family, and teachers for cheering her on and helping her earn this achievement.
Her mother, Rageshwar Goldberg, said, “... you see the aha moments along the way because there’s certain things you wanna tackle when you develop your project. Why is this significant to history? Why do we need to learn about it? And when you start to see those dots getting connected between knowing the facts and the meaning from the facts, it’s very exciting as a parent.”
Her teacher Carla Christian said, “She’s steady, she’s reliable, she’s persistent, she thinks big and doesn’t forget the details. And I just knew she’d win. I don’t know how I knew it, but it gives me goosebumps. I knew she’d win.”
Alekha says that if she makes it to the state level for six years, she would get a scholarship and a legacy award.
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