International Geography Is A Natural For Winning Holmdel Student

HOLMDEL, NJ— Akarsh Kollu came home from Orlando, Fla., as winner of the International Geography Bee for his eighth-grade level. The recent graduate of the William R. Satz Middle School also came home with a large trophy.

But his expertise in geography is nothing new, his father, Kranthi Kollu, said. In fact, as young as age 4 he was able to complete his first puzzle map of the United States that his dad bought for him at Costco.

"I brought it home and he was doing it for a couple of days, and by the fifth day he knew all the 50 states. After a few days he knew all the state capitals," his father recalls.

Akarsh lives in Holmdel with his dad, his mother Dipti and his sister Anwita, who is one year younger, his father said.

He just turned 14 and is going to Biotech High School for science in Freehold in September. Akarsh also was on the Holmdel Hurricanes swim team, is a Life Scout working toward his Eagle Scout and also has been playing piano for many years.

But Akarsh has always found time to develop a global understanding of geography and cultures, his father observes.

"He was always very good at flags," his father remembers. "When he would watch the Olympics, he knew all the flags of the countries."

He also was the only student to win geography competitions at Indian Hill School each year he was there and has been competing in other events since first grade, his father said, adding that he also won the Monmouth-Ocean Academic Bowl.

In Orlando, more than 1,200 elementary and middle school students in the U.S. met from June 17 to June 21 for the 2022 National Championships in various categories, such as the National History Bee and Bowl, U.S. Academic Bee and Bowl, U.S. Geography Championships, National Science Bee, and the International Geography Bee that Akarsh competed in.

And he came out on top in his grade from 111 contestants from around the country.

There were "five days of buzzer-based and exam competitions," organizers said in a news release.

Akarsh was the only winner from Monmouth County in any of the competitions.

All competitions were held at the Hyatt Regency Orlando, with the National Sports and Entertainment Bee and National Humanities Bee held online on June 11.

Students finishing in the top half of their division of the International Geography Bee or U.S. Geography Championships qualify for the 2022 International Geography Championships to be held in Burlington, Vt. and Montreal, Quebec, from July 3 to July 10.

Kranthi Kollu said his son may choose to go to Vermont for the competition but that is not a definite as yet.

Complete results for all events can be found here. For more information about International Academic Competitions’ offerings for elementary and middle School students, visit its website.

International Academic Competitions (IAC) organizes competitions in 40-plus countries, including the National Science Bee, National History Bee, and the U.S. Division of the International Geography Bee.