Vishal and Vishaal excel at Georgia Geography Bee
Desis ace the middle school Geography Bees again
(Left) Vishaal Ganesh (second place finalist) and Vishal Sareddy (champion), GA Geography Bee 2017.
Vishal Sareddy, a seventh-grader from Riverwatch Middle School, Suwanee, is the Georgia Geographic Bee champion, and Vishaal Ganesh, an eighth-grader in Dodgen Middle School, Marietta took second place. Both were in the competition last year. Third place went to Andrew Pietkiewicz of Chamblee Middle School. The Georgia Bee was held on March 31 at Georgia College with almost 100 students (fourth through eighth grade) competing.
Each State Bee Champion received $100, National Geographic Concise Atlas of the World, 4th Edition 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 14-17, 2017. Eighteen students are returning to the National Geographic Bee Championship from previous years. National Geographic Channel will air the final round of the Championship at 8pm ET on May 19. It will air later on public television stations.
It is noteworthy that although Indian Americans are just a fraction of the US population, 2/3 of the 2017 Georgia winners and 39% (21/54) of the 2017 national champions are desis! Thirteen of the 2017 champions, including Sareddy, are NSF kids. (North South Foundation is a nonprofit that promotes academic excellence among Indian-American students and provides scholarships to deserving candidates in India.) What will happen at nationals? Well, it was won in 2016 by Indian American Rishi Nair and by Indian Americans the previous five years, so we’ll see! In the meantime, try the quiz yourself: http://www.nationalgeographic.org/bee/study/quiz
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ZaBrina Warren (past president of the Geography Club at Georgia College), Andrew Pietkiewicz (third place finalist), Vishaal Ganesh (second place finalist), Vishal Sareddy (champion), Dr. George Lonberger (associate professor, Georgia State University) and Doug Oetter (professor of geography, Georgia College).
2017 State Champions include these desis:
ARIZONA- Aditya Narayanan, 5th Grade, Sonoran Sky Elementary School, Scottsdale
CALIFORNIA- Ahilan Eraniyan, 6th Grade, Diablo Vista Middle School, Danville
DELAWARE- Rohan Kanchana, 8th Grade, Newark Charter School, Newark
GEORGIA- Vishal Sareddy, 7th Grade, Riverwatch Middle School, Suwanee
ILLINOIS- Sahan Sai Yalavarthi, 7th Grade, Twin Groves Middle School, Buffalo Grove
KANSAS- Sathvik Kasarabada, 7th Grade, California Trail Middle School, Olathe
MARYLAND- Nabhoneel Sil Upadhyay, 8th Grade, Kingsview Middle School, Germantown
MISSOURI- Rohan K. Rao, 7th Grade, Ann Hawkins Gentry Middle School, Columbia
NEW HAMPSHIRE- Abhinav S. Govindaraju, 7th Grade, Ross A Lurgio Middle School, Bedford
NEW JERSEY- Veda Bhattaram, 7th Grade, Robert R Lazar Middle School, Montville
NEW MEXICO- Lakshay Sood, 6th Grade, Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque
NORTH DAKOTA- Krishna Kamalakannan, 7th Grade, Discovery Middle School, Fargo
OHIO- Saket Pochiraju, 7th Grade, Orange Middle School, Lewis Center
OREGON- Ashwin Sivakumar, 7th Grade, Oregon Episcopal School, Portland
PENNSYLVANIA- Eshan Singh, 7th Grade, Charles H Boehm Middle School, Yardley
TENNESSEE- Simeon Betapudi, 7th Grade, Evangelical Christian School, Cordova
TEXAS- Pranay Varada, 8th Grade, Dewitt Perry Middle School, Carrollton
UTAH- Ankit Garg, 7th Grade, Bear River Charter School, Logan
VERMONT- Anshuta Beeram, 6th Grade, Frederick H Tuttle Middle School, Burlington
VIRGINIA- Anish Susarla, 6th Grade, Belmont Ridge Middle School, Leesburg
WASHINGTON- Arjun Nathan, 8th Grade, Pine Lake Middle School, Sammamish
About the National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society is a leading nonprofit that invests in bold people and transformative ideas in the fields of exploration, scientific research, storytelling and education. We support educators to ensure that the next generation is armed with geographic knowledge and global understanding. We aspire to create a community of change, advancing key insights about our planet and probing some of the most pressing scientific questions of our time. Our goal is measurable impact: furthering exploration and educating people around the world to inspire solutions for the greater good. For more information, visit www.nationalgeographic.org.
Congratulations to these NSF kids (North South Foundation)! The won their state bee and will be competing in the National Geographic Bee on May 14-17 in Washington D.C.
California -- Ahilan Eraniyan
Delaware -- Rohan Kanchana
Georgia -- Vishal Sareddy
Illinois -- Sahan Yalavarthi
Kansas -- Sathvik Kasarabada
Maryland -- Nabhoneel Sil Upadhyay
Missouri -- Rohan Rao
New Hampshire -- Abhinav Govindaraju
New Jersey -- Veda Bhattaram
Ohio -- Saket Pochiraju
Texas -- Pranay Varada
Virginia -- Anish Susarla
Washington -- Arjun Nathan
[The article above contains additional material not in the print and digital issues.]
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