In the afterglow of graduation, three students from St. Joseph High School in Harrison are celebrating another exciting achievement.

Julie Arvay, Brandon Keller and Patrick Pugliese took first place in the National History Day competition held at the University of Maryland.

The three seniors created a documentary titled "Please Adjust the Color," which traced the depiction of African-Americans beginning with minstrel theater and advancing through radio and television.

For the past 25 years, History Day, a year-round education program, has selected a theme for students to incorporate into one of four categories: exhibit, paper, performance or documentary. This year's theme was Communication in History: The Key to Understanding.

Competitions are held at regional, state and national levels. The St. Joseph team took first place at all three levels. It was the first year a team from the region won the national competition.

"Senior year is so busy," said Pugliese, of Leechburg. "We were all so involved in other things, [the documentary] kind of got pushed to the back burner. We surprised ourselves and a bunch of other people."

Arvay, of New Kensington, came up with the idea shortly after the theme was announced in June 2004. In doing her research, she found that the civil rights movement was a turning point for a more accurate portrayal of African-Americans on television.

Before the movement, Pugliese said, African-Americans were portrayed as two-dimensional, static and underdeveloped.

Arvay sent about 100 letters to people involved in black history, ranging from actors and actresses to political activists.

The response was not overwhelming, but the students were able to interview some respondents over the phone, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson; actor James Earl Jones; Henry Winkler, star of "Happy Days;" and Marla Gibbs, of "The Jeffersons."

When Pugliese made a trip to New York City to look at colleges, he was able to meet Jones, who was starring in a revival of "On Golden Pond." He interviewed him in his dressing room and chatted with the actor, who starred in the 1977 movie "Roots."

The students' 10-minute documentary used clips from shows, still photographs and interviews with professors at the University of Pittsburgh. U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and KDKA-TV newsman Don Cannon also are featured in the documentary, speaking about the relationship between their careers and the civil rights movement.

Pugliese, who edited the documentary, said it took about 30 hours to create the film, which had to be cut from its original 25 minutes to meet the time requirement. The students' work was praised by fellow students, judges and teachers, and they received a standing ovation at the national competition.

"My favorite was at [the state competition], a man came up to us and said he wished we sold [the documentary] because he would show it to his class," said Keller, of Lower Burrell.

"We gave him one. He was so inclined to use it in his classroom, we were flattered. It's the best feeling when something like that happens."

"I did a documentary last year, and I see the difference," Arvay said. "This year it seems like people relate to it and it's more entertaining. [People] could see what went on and that some racism still exists."

This was the fourth year the three participated in History Day. At St. Joseph, freshmen and sophomores are required to create a project and enter it into the regional competition. Each of the students had made it to the national competition in previous years with different groups. Arvay placed eighth individually in her sophomore year.

The team received $1,000 from History Day and an additional $5,000 from The History Channel Award, which they split.

"I cannot praise these kids enough for the work they do," said Teresita Kolenchak, director of public relations and alumni relations for St. Joseph.

"I know how hard they've been working all these years. It's a nice way to send them off into their next level of education."