We are sad to report the sudden passing of History Day Outreach Specialist, Laura Zeccardi. Over the past five days, University of Minnesota physicians discovered that Laura had an undetected bone tumor that ultimately triggered a blood clot into her lungs. Laura died peacefully early Sunday morning at the U of M hospital while she was being comforted by her family.

Laura's father shared that her work at MHS brought her tremendous joy as she "was doing the work she was born to do." Laura grew up in Chatfield, Minnesota, and began participating in History Day as a 6th grader. She is one of the few students who participated in the program in every year she was eligible and went on to represent Minnesota at the national competition multiple times. As a student at Macalester College, Laura served as a History Day intern and eventually joined the Education Outreach staff after completing graduate school at NYU. Laura excelled at providing classroom support to students and teachers and, most recently, was responsible for coordinating the expansion of student research support services at public and university libraries. Thousands of students have benefited from her dedication to share the love of learning that she experienced through History Day.

A celebration of Laura's life is being planned for Sunday, March 3rd, 2:00 p.m. at Chatfield Lutheran Church. We are working with her parents on the establishment of a memorial fund and we will share details as they become available.

If you would like to offer any memories of Laura, we have set up a Survey Monkey for you to offer your thoughts.