JEREMIAH Christopher Tuazon, an 8th grade student at Rota Jr. High School, won the school-level competition of the National Geographic Bee on Jan. 12, and a chance at a $25,000 college scholarship, a media release stated.
The school-level bee, at which students answered oral questions related to geography, was the first round in the 19th annual National Geographic Bee. The bee is sponsored by the National Geographic Society.
The kickoff for this year’s bee was the week of Nov. 13, with thousands of schools around the United States and in the five U.S. territories participating.
The school winners, including Tuazon, will now take a written test; up to 10 of the top scorers in the Pacific region will then be eligible to compete in the state bee on March 30, along with four students from Guam and five from American Samoa.
The bee organization has asked the mayor of Rota to proctor this last qualifying round.
Mayor Joseph S. Inos gladly accepted the request to proctor the test on March 30.
The National Geographic Society will provide an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for state champions and teacher-escorts to participate in the National Geographic Bee national championship on May 22 and 23.
The first-place national winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship and a lifetime membership in the society.
“Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek will moderate at the national finals on May 23. The program will air on television. Check local listings for dates and times.
Anyone can brush up on geography with GeoBee Challenge, an online geography quiz at www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee, which poses five new questions a day from previous National Geographic Bees.
The GeoBee Challenge board game also provides geography fun for the whole family. The board game won the prestigious Parents’ Choice Award.
The National Geographic Society is one of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations.
The 118-year-old society reflects the world through magazines, television programs, films, radio, books, videos, maps, interactive media, and merchandise.
National Geographic magazine, the official journal of the society, is read by about 40 million people each month in every country of the world.
The National Geographic Channel reaches nearly 300 million households in 27 languages in 164 countries.
National Geographic has funded more than 8,000 scientific research projects and supports an education program combating geographic illiteracy.