COVINGTON, Ga. - Eighth-grade student Jake Branan, 13, has been notified by the National Geographic Society that he is one of the semifinalists eligible to compete in the 2018 Georgia National Geographic State Bee.
This is the second level of the National Geographic Bee competition; Bees were held in schools with fourth- through eighth-grade students throughout the state to determine each school champion. School champions then took a qualifying test, which they submitted to the National Geographic Society. The National Geographic Society has invited up to 100 of the top-scoring students in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense Dependents Schools and U.S. territories to compete in the State Bees.
“He loves sports and geography,” his mother Deborah Branan said. “He hopes to someday travel the world, which makes this the perfect competition for him. He’s a great kid who refuses to let any obstacle stop him.”
Despite a battle with Cerebral Palsy, Branan is currently excelling in the gifted program at Cousin’s Middle School.
To celebrate the 30th annual National Geographic Bee, the cash prize for the top three students in each state has doubled. Each state champion will receive $200, the National Geographic Visual Atlas of the World, and a trip to Washington, D.C., to represent their state in the National Geographic Bee Championship to be held at National Geographic Society headquarters, May 20-23, 2018. Students that come in second place will receive $150 and those that come in third will receive $100. The first-place national champion will receive a $50,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the Society, including a subscription to National Geographic magazine, and an all-expenses-paid Lindblad expedition to the Galápagos Islands aboard the new National Geographic Endeavour ll.
Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic will provide transportation for the trip. Second- and third-place finishers will receive $25,000 and $10,000 college scholarships, respectively.
National Geographic will stream the final round of the National Geographic Bee Championship starting May 24, at www.natgeobee.org
http://www.natgeobee.org
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