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14-Year-Old Indian-American Boy Wins the Prestigious NatGeo Bee 2017
An eighth grade student at DeWitt Perry Middle School in town of Carrollton, Pranay will get a $50,000 college scholarship. He will also receive a lifetime membership to the Society, which includes a subscription to National Geographic magazine, plus an all-expenses-paid Lindblad expedition…
Pranay Varada of Irving, Texas beat 53 other geography whizzes to win the National Geographic Bee Championship today in Washington, D.C.
An eighth grade student at DeWitt Perry Middle School in town of Carrollton, Pranay will get a $50,000 college scholarship. He will also receive a lifetime membership to the Society, which includes a subscription to National Geographic magazine, plus an all-expenses-paid Lindblad expedition to the Galápagos Islands aboard the new National Geographic Endeavour ll.
“I always believed that I could be the champion. I’m elated that my dreams came true,” Pranay said to Dallas News.
Congrats to Pranay Varada (right) of Irving, Texas, a 14-year-old at Dewitt Perry Middle School, 29th annual #NatGeoBee Champion! pic.twitter.com/MRlQoFHBOH
— National Geographic (@InsideNatGeo) May 17, 2017
Pranay Varada finished in sixth place at last year's National Geographic Bee, when he incorrect answered the official language of Sierra Leone as French — it's English. Determined to avoid a setback in his final year of eligibility, he started studying for the next year's (2017) bee that same day.
The National Geographic Bee is an annual geography contest sponsored by the National Geographic Society that has been held since 1989, for students studying in the fourth to eighth grades in schools across the United States. This year's competition included 54 state-level winners, ages 10-14, representing all 50 states, District of Columbia, Atlantic Territories, Pacific Territories and Department of Defense Dependents Schools.
How well would you perform in the National Geographic Bee? Take this quiz to find out: https://t.co/9GWYzqD44g
— National Geographic (@NatGeo) May 17, 2017
More information is available here.