2 Evanston Middle School Students Advance To State GeoBee Finals

EVANSTON, IL — Two middle school students attending schools in Evanston have been chosen as finalists in the 2019 National GeoBee State Competition.

Seventh-graders Bianca Joaquin, from St. Joan of Arc School, and Sam Persell, from Nichols Middle School, won their respective school competitions and submitted qualifying tests to the National Geographic Society.

Joaquin and Persell were both chosen among the top 100 highest-scoring qualifying students in Illinois. The students will compete in the state competition March 29 at Heartland Community College in Normal. State champions will receive a medal, $1,000, and a trip to the national championship May 19–22 in Washington D.C.

The national champion will win a $25,000 college scholarship, a $1,000 cash prize, a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and a trip to the Galápagos Islands, according to event organizers.

Second and third runner-ups will also win $1,00 cash prizes, as well as $10,000 and $5,000 scholarships, respectively.

Nichols Middle School is a public school in Evanston/Skokie School District 65. St. Joan of Arc is a soon-to-be independent Catholic school on the Evanston–Skokie border.