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Student wins award for research paper

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By COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR

cpastor@tampatrib.com

Published: July 1, 2009

NINE EAGLES - A Farnell Middle student won a special award at a national history competition last month.

Anna Yannakopoulous, who just finished eighth grade at Farnell, received the George C. Marshall 20th Century Award for her research paper on Wernher von Braun, a former Nazi rocker scientist who surrendered and eventually worked for NASA.

Anna's paper, "Wernher von Braun: An Inspired Engineer or an Immoral Villain," placed first in the junior research paper division in the state History Day competition in May. It qualified her for a trip to the National History Day competition from June 14-18 at the University of Maryland.

She was the only Hillsborough County student to move to nationals.

Students explored the theme "The Individual in History" through research papers or group or individual exhibits, performances, documentaries or Web sites. Anna fleshed out the conflicting ways history views von Braun.

Some saw him as villain for his use of concentration camp prisoners as slave labor to build rockets he developed. Others praise the innovation he showed while working for NASA and his involvement in creating the Saturn V rockets that launched Apollo crews to the moon.

Although Anna did not take one of the top places in the research paper competition, her work was singled out for a special award.

The George C. Marshall Foundation's award spotlights an entry in the junior or senior division that relates to aspects of Marshall's life in the first half of the 20th century. Anna's father, Demetrios, said they were pleasantly surprised to learn one of the judges had nominated her for the award.

Reporter Courtney Cairns Pastor can be reached at (727) 451-2343.

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