Arnav Jagasia knows the globe by heart. The Radnor Middle School eighth-grader beat out 100 other middle schools students from across Pennsylvania to win the state-level Geographic Bee on March 30 at Pennsylvania State University. Arnav will now compete against 53 other winners for a $25,000 college scholarship in the National Geographic Bee on May 22-24 in Washington, D.C.
Arnav earned the trip to the state completion after winning the school-level competition in January for the third straight year. He will now face winners from the other 49 states, the Atlantic Territories, the Department of Defense Dependent Schools, the District of Columbia, and the Pacific Territories. Last year, Arnav placed fifth in the state competition.
The National Geographic Bee occurs in three stages, beginning at the school level. Schools that register for the Bee receive materials to hold their competitions. Each school winner takes a written test and the top hundred scorers in each state and territory compete at the state level. The winner of each state Bee proceeds to the national competition.
At the national competition, the number of contestants is narrowed to ten finalists, who compete for a $25,000 college scholarship and a lifetime membership to the National Geographic Society. The second- and third-place winners receive $15,000 and $10,000 scholarships, respectively. Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek moderates the final competition.
