Milo Cocola could have found everything he needed for his history project with a few quick internet searches. But he chose to do it the old-fashioned way.
For his history project tied to the United States Semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Cocola, a sophomore from Bow, spent hours in the State Archives’ research room.
He dug through boxes of photographs, documents and newspaper articles, piecing together stories from centuries of the state’s history. There were no shortcuts or search bars.
“I made a rule for myself that I had to take everything from the archives,” he said. “When I found the different images, I would just go down the rabbit holes and I found everything super interesting.”
On Wednesday, all that hard work paid off when Cocola received the “History in the 603 Award” from New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan.
The award recognizes high school students who bring New Hampshire history to life through research and connect local history to broader themes in American life. This year marks the inaugural year of this state award.
Cocola’s finished project is a collage in the shape of the number 250. Each numeral is filled with images of New Hampshire figures who shaped national politics, along with curiosities he unearthed along the way, including a microfilm of a historic town map.
Ashley Miller, the state archivist, said Cocola arrived with a broad range of interests, and the scope of the final project reflected the many hours he put in.
Her staff, she said, got to know him well over the many hours he spent doing research at the New Hampshire State Archives.
Miller said having students like Cocola go through the archives is “everything to me.”
“I’m fairly young, but growing up, even doing my history projects, the first place I would go was the library,” she said. “Kids these days don’t exactly think of the library as a resource; however, we’re here and available, and have so many things that can help.”
Miller said she plans to hang Cocola’s “250” collage in the research room.
The project took Cocola about a month to complete, with some late nights along the way, but he said it was his passion for history that kept him going.
Cocola has his sights set on majoring in history, then pursuing a master’s degree and a PhD with hopes of one day becoming a professor or finding his way into archival work.
His passion was on full display after he received the award from Scanlan at the Secretary of State’s office.
Noticing a framed photograph of the 20th-century secretaries of state hanging on the wall, Cocola peppered Scanlan with questions while looking at it with fascination.
Elizabeth Woo, a former Bow High School teacher who now leads civic and voter education efforts for the Secretary of State’s office, said Cocola’s “curiosity drives his academics.”
“He wants to know and just because of that, he has a desire to connect the dots,” she said.
Flipping through pages of old history and scanning images on his phone, Cocola said his research gave him a deeper appreciation for just how much New Hampshire’s political legacy extends beyond its first-in-the-nation primary.
“New Hampshire is an extremely unique state, especially when it comes to politics,” Cocola said. “There are just so many other interesting political people and figures in the state.”
