Danbury Student Qualifies For State National Geography Bee

DANBURY, CT — Aditya Jay "A.J." Singh, a sixth-grade student at Westside Middle School Academy, learned this week that he has qualified as a competitor in the state round of the National Geographic Bee. This will be A.J.’s third time competing at the state-level Geo Bee.

A.J. was a student at King Street Intermediate School the first two times he qualified for the competition after defeating competitors at his school. This year, Joseph Nigro, a fourth grader at King Street won the school competition.

The 100 statewide winners will compete on March 27 at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain. The state competition is open to students in grades four through eight; 10,000 schools across the country will compete in the 2020 National Geographic Bee for a chance to win a $50,000 scholarship.

A.J. said he prepares for the competition by reading many geography books and studying maps.

The National Geographic Bee 2020 will be held May 18-21 at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C. The national champion receives a $25,000 college scholarship, $1,000, a lifetime membership in the NGS and a trip to the Galapagos Islands. Second- and third-place winners receive $10,000 and $5,000 college scholarships, respectively, and $1,000.