An Indian American student won the 2014 contest.
AB Wire
WASHINGTON, DC: A record number of 19 Indian American students from states across the US have made it to the finals of the 27th annual National Geographic Bee, to be held next month, in Washington, DC.
Last year, Indian American student Akhil Rekulapelli, 13, of Dulles, Virginia, an eighth-grader then at Stone Hill Middle School in Ashburn, took top honors, to win a $50,000 college scholarship, lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and a trip for two to the Galápagos Islands on an expedition aboard the Lindblad ship National Geographic Endeavour.
Indian American student Ameya Mujumdar from Florida, an 11-year-old fifth-grader at Turner Elementary School in Tampa, took second place and a $25,000 prize, last year. Third place and a $10,000 college scholarship went to California’s Tuvya Bergson-Michelson, a 13-year-old seventh-grader at The Nueva School in Hillsborough, near San Francisco.
Last year more than four million students, from grade four to eight, from 54 state and territory winners took part in the preliminary rounds of the National Geographic Bee.
The 19 Indian American students who have made it to the finals of the 2015 National Geographic Bee, by becoming state champions, are:
- ALABAMA: Kapil Nathan, 5th Grade, Mount Laurel Elementary School, Birmingham.
- CALIFORNIA: Madhavan Krishnan, 6th Grade, Sam H. Lawson Middle School, Cupertino.
- DELAWARE: Rohan Kanchana, 6th Grade, Newark Charter School, Newark.
- FLORIDA: Rishi Nair, 5th Grade, Lincoln Magnet School, Plant City.
- GEORGIA: Vibhav Kanyadan, 7th Grade, Walker School, Marietta.
- KANSAS: Chinmay Patil, 7th Grade, California Trail Middle School, Olathe.
- KENTUCKY: Pranav Kanmadikar, 6th Grade, Meyzeek Middle School, Louisville.
- LOUISIANA: Ajaya Tummala, 8th Grade, Caddo Middle Magnet School, Shreveport.
- MARYLAND: Abhinav Karthikeyan, 6th Grade, Roberto W. Clemente Middle School, Germantown.
- MICHIGAN: Shriya Yarlagadda, 6th Grade, Grand Blanc East Middle School, Grand Blanc.
- MINNESOTA: Shreyas Varathan, 8th Grade, Shakopee Area Catholic School, Shakopee.
- MISSOURI: Nikhil Krishnan, 7th Grade, Rockwood South Middle School, Fenton.
- NEW JERSEY: Karan Menon, 8th Grade, John Adams Middle School, Edison.
- NEW MEXICO: Lakshay Sood, 4th Grade, Manzano Day School, Albuquerque.
- NEW YORK: Arnav Patra, 7th Grade, Heim Middle School, Williamsville.
- OHIO: Suyash Dixit, 8th Grade, Shanahan Middle School, Lewis Center.
- OREGON: Ashwin Sivakumar, 5th Grade, Oregon Episcopal School, Portland.
- PENNSYLVANIA: Tejas Badgujar, 8th Grade, Hampton Middle School, Allison Park.
- UTAH: Gauri Garg, 8th Grade, Bear River Charter School, Logan.