Nashua-Plainfield Juniors Win $2,500 Lowell Milken Center Discovery Award Prize

The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes (LMC) announced that juniors Paige Franzen, Kadence Huck and Callahan Levi of Nashua-Plainfield High School have won the $2,500 first prize in the 2023 international Discovery Award competition. 

The “Unsung Heroes” documentary by Franzen, Huck and Levie, Why Not Us? Dr. Christine Grant’s Pursuit of Gender Equality, shines a light on Grant’s significant contributions to furthering gender equality in collegiate sports. Grant spent decades as the University of Iowa’s athletic director and used the historic passing of Title IX to help build a decorated women’s athletics program unlike any other. 

Franzen, Huck and Levi took the time to interview primary sources, including several of Grant’s previous students, mentees and colleagues, which provided unique firsthand insight on the legacy she left behind.

LMC Chief Executive Officer Norm Conard surprised Franzen, Huck and Levi with the Award during a celebration at Nashua-Plainfield High School Tuesday. Their documentary, supervised by social studies teacher Suzan Turner, is among 12 projects – created by 17 students – receiving over $20,000 collectively in 2023 Discovery Award prizes. 

*You can watch the documentary here