D47 Student Advances To State Geography Bee

CRYSTAL LAKE-CARY, IL - From Crystal Lake Elementary District 47: Caden Alexander, an eighth grader from Hannah Beardsley Middle School, will be competing in the 2019 Illinois National Geographic State Geography Bee Competition.

After winning his class and school geography bees, Alexander submitted a qualifying test to the National Geographic Society. He was among the top 100 highest-scoring students in Illinois, qualifying him to advance to the state competition.

As a sixth grader, Alexander won his class geography bee and took second place in the school competition. Last year he won his class spelling bee, but didn’t make it to the school geography bee. This year, as an 8th grader, he said he was out to win but didn’t think he’d make it to state. He claims he doesn’t intentionally study geography but reads a lot and watches YouTube videos that inadvertently teach him about it.

“I’m good at retaining information once I’ve learned it,” he said. “If you don’t stress about it, you’re calmer and able to think better. It works for me!”

Alexander participates in Scholastic Bowl, band and Science Olympiad. While he enjoys geography, he says that science and engineering are his real passion. He will be a freshman at Crystal Lake Central High School next year and hopes to pursue classes in engineering.

The state geography bee will take place March 29 at Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois. State champions will receive a medal, $1,000, and a trip to the national championship May 19–22, 2019 in Washington, D.C.