Geography champ advances

More than 400 seventh- and eighth-grade students at South High School participated in the National Geographic Society’s Geography Bee, an annual event that takes place in their social studies classrooms.

Students answered challenging questions about U.S. geography, geographic comparisons, physical geography, continents, world geography and cultural geography, according to Michael Serif, the school’s social studies chairperson.

Thirty-four students qualified based on National Geographic’s criteria. They met after school on Jan. 19 to compete in the semifinals, finals and championship round for the opportunity to represent South High at the state competition in Albany in April.

Seventh-graders Pablo Pazmino and Yaniela Fernandez made it to the championship round, which Pazmino won. He will take a written exam in order to qualify to be one of the 100 students who will compete in Albany.

If he does well in the state competition, he could win the chance to compete in the national Geography Bee in Washington, D.C. in May. The winner will receive a $50,000 college scholarship and a lifelong membership in the National Geographic Society.

Serif said that it was heartening to see the students’ enthusiasm during the competition. “A knowledge of geography is becoming ever more important, as many of the jobs of the future will require students to be cognizant of the world’s diverse cultures,” he said.