West Essex Eighth Grader Makes it to Final Eight of National History Bee

Jason Morganti, the New Jersey Regional History Bee winner, made it to the quarterfinals of the National History Bee Middle School Competition. The bee, which took place in May, was televised June 1 on the History Channel.

"It definitely went well for my first competition," said Jason, who loves watching the History Channel in his spare time. Jason knew many of the answers to the questions, but noted that the show's buzzer system was "flooded" so he did not always get the chance to respond. "I need to learn how to beat the buzzer system," he said.

Jason, from Fairfield, a passionate history buff, was named the winner in the Regional Round of the National History Bee on March 20 at J.P. Case Middle School in Flemington.

In the first ever National History Bee for middle school students, Jason was one of the first round of eight finalists to answer five questions correctly to advance. In the end, he said he was pleased with how well he did, considering it was his first competition and making it to the top eight "was pretty impressive." Jason said he hopes to compete in future events. On the side of the set, the contestants could see themselves on a television screen, he noted. "It was weird to have a camera on you and see yourself on TV."   

"Jason did an outstanding job on the history bee and was a great representative of West Essex Middle School," said Middle School Principal David Montgomery. 

Jason and Louis Galarowicz, a West Essex seventh grader from North Caldwell, both competed in the Regional Round. The boys were ranked first and third in the preliminary round following an Online Regional Qualifying Exam. In the March 20 regional competition, the boys competed in three rounds of questions with 22 other semi-finalists. The first round of questions focused on the period 3500 BC to 1944; the second focused on World History and the third was based on questions from 1945 to March 19, 2012.

In the New Jersey regional finals, Jason went head-to-head with the second place winner and was selected to represent New Jersey in the National History Bee & Bowl in Washington, D.C. on May 12, 2012.

Jason competed against 32 other finalists from across the country for the grand prize—a $52,000 college scholarship. This year's winner, who is a regular competitor in Quiz Bowl and other events like this, was from Virginia.