Five Orange County high school students, including residents of Irvine, have received the Outstanding High School Project award at the National Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes Discovery Award competition. Their group documentary film, “Miné Okubo: The Unsung Hero Who Drew What America Tried to Hide,” earned them a $2,500 prize.
The documentary focuses on Japanese American artist Miné Okubo, examining her experiences during World War II. The film highlights the significance of Okubo’s artwork, which depicted the realities of Japanese American incarceration. The winning students are Eunhyeok “Joseph” Lee and Ethan Yo, both from Orange County School of the Arts; Minseo “Leon” Chung from Northwood High School; Grace Na from Beckman High School; and Hosan “Harvard” Kim from Crean Lutheran High School.
The project was supervised by Nancy Alcala, a teacher at the Orange County School of the Arts. According to Alcala, the team carefully crafted their film using a range of sources, including paintings, photos, video, newspaper clips, graphics, and footage from various interviews. Alcala expressed pride in the students' achievement, noting the transformative impact of empowering students to collaborate, research, and create alongside their peers.
The idea for the documentary developed from a previous National History Day competition. Last year, Lee and Yo, then both OCSA students, collaborated on another film. That earlier project explored how Asian American artists have historically used their work to expose injustices and document history. Through this work, the students learned about various pieces, including poetry written by Chinese immigrants at Angel Island, the documentary “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” by Christine Choy and Renee Tajima-Peña, and Miné Okubo’s book “Citizen 13660.”
Julie Hull, who coordinates National History Day–Orange County for OCDE, commented on the lasting impact of such projects. Hull noted that participation in a National History Day project often extends beyond the competition season, opening doors for additional learning opportunities and the pursuit of knowledge in areas of passion.
Eunhyeok “Joseph” Lee’s interest in the subject led him to found Asian American Artists, an organization dedicated to honoring and preserving Asian American history through art. It was through this organization that Lee and Yo connected with Minseo “Leon” Chung, Grace Na, and Hosan “Harvard” Kim, bringing together students from Northwood, Beckman, and Crean Lutheran High Schools.
The opportunity to work with students from other schools and further explore their shared passions proved to be a strong motivator when the Discovery Award competition was announced. The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes sponsors the Discovery Awards annually. This program encourages students in grades four through twelve to research and highlight lesser-known historical figures through project-based learning. The competition emphasizes critical thinking, creativity, and historical research.
This year’s competition awarded more than $25,000 across 14 projects. The students’ documentary, along with the other winning projects, is available on the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes website for public viewing.
