Bedford Student Among 10 Students to Qualify for 2013 National Geographic Bee Final Round

The preliminary round of the 25th annual National Geographic Bee was held Monday, May 20. The top 10 finishers — from the field of 54 state-level winners who took part in the prelims — will compete in the final round to be held at The National Theatre in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, May 22. Neelam Sandhu, from Bedford, is among the top 10 finalists. Neelam is a 14-year-old 8th grader at Ross A. Lurgio Middle School in Bedford.

The winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship, lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and a trip to the Galápagos Islands. Second- and third-place winners will receive $15,000 and $10,000 college scholarships respectively. The final round of the competition will be simulcast in prime time on the National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo WILD on Thursday, May 23, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

The 10 finalists are:

Tuvya Bergson-Michelson, California

Pranit Nanda, Colorado

Ricky Uppaluri, Georgia

Conrad Oberhaus, Illinois

Sathwik Karnik, Massachusetts

Neha Middela, Michigan

Neelam Sandhu, New Hampshire

Harish Palani, Oregon

Akhil Rekulapelli, Virginia

Asha Jain, Wisconsin

Additionally, Neelam submitted a video about her hometown and journey to the Bee, which can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeMBGmmyvlI&list=SPivjPDlt6ApQapjje1zbnV6mYVYDY_SiY