Hoboken Student Ready For NJ National Geography Bee

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken resident Luke Rostan is ready to put his geography knowledge to the test.

For the third year in a row, Rostan, a Mustard Seed School student, has qualified to compete as a semifinalist in the annual New Jersey National Geographic State Bee, school administrators said in a news release.

On April 6, Rostan will compete against other New Jersey fourth-eighth grade semifinalists at Rowan University in Glassboro as part of the second level of the National Geographic Bee competition. To reach this stage, Rostan won the Mustard Seed School geography bee, then took a qualifying test.

One of Rostan’s favorite ways to keep things interesting is to learn “obscure facts,” school administrators said. For example, did you know that “the Musandam Governorate is an enclave of Oman?”

Some of Rostan’s advice for aspiring geography bee champs includes:

• “Take pride in your work”
• “Keep an open mindset”
• “Focus on the questions”

“I like that geography is a really broad topic,” Rostan said. “There are so many new places that I’ve never heard about. Then once I learn about a place, I’ll often hear it mentioned somewhere and I’ll know something about it. I can make real-world connections.”

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Photo: Mustard Seed School