Local Student Advances To States In National Geography Bee

HAMPTON BAYS, NY — A Hampton Bays middle school student is taking his love of geography to the next level — Ryan Hughes, 13, has been named a New York National Geographic State Bee semifinalist by the National Geographic Society.

Nancy and Robert Hughes, the eighth grader's proud parents, said Ryan was notified by the National Geographic Society that he is one of the semifinalists eligible to compete in the 2018 New York National Geographic State Bee.

The contest will be held at the New York State Museum in Albany on Friday, April 6.

"We just received the email that my son passed the required test, from National Geographic, to get a spot in the state National Geographic Geography Bee in Albany on April 6," Nancy Hughes said. "You need to be top 100 on the test to qualify."

According to the National Geographic Society, the competition is the second level of the National Geographic Bee competition, now in its 30th year. School "Bees" were held in schools with fourth- through eighth-grade students throughout the state to determine each school champion.

School champions then took a qualifying test, which they submitted to the National Geographic Society. The National Geographic Society has invited up to 100 of the top-scoring students in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense Dependents Schools and U.S. territories to compete in the State Bees, contest organizers said.

To celebrate the 30th annual National Geographic Bee, the cash prize for the top three students in each state has doubled, the National Geographic Society said.

Each state champion will receive $200, the National Geographic Visual Atlas of the World, 2nd Edition and a trip to Washington, D.C., to represent their state in the National Geographic Bee Championship, which will be held at National Geographic Society headquarters from May 20 to 23.

Students that come in second place will receive $150 and those that come in third will receive $100.

The first-place national champion will receive a $50,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the Society, including a subscription to National Geographic magazine, and an all-expenses-paid Lindblad expedition to the Galápagos Islands aboard the new National Geographic Endeavour ll, contest organizers said. Travel for the trip is provided by Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic. Second- and third-place finishers will receive $25,000 and $10,000 college scholarships, respectively.

For additional information on the National Geographic Bee, click here.

National Geographic will stream the final round of the National Geographic Bee Championship starting on May 24 here.

Young competitors needed to answer questions at school Bees on a wide range of geographic areas. Some of those questions included:

- The Appalachian Mountains run through which state — Georgia or Mississippi?(The answer is Georgia).

- The easternmost part on the Horn of Africa is located in which country? (That correct answer is Somalia).

Nancy Hughes said her son has always loved geography, ever since he was a young boy.

"I remember once he started fifth grade, he would draw maps for fun, when he had free time. He would even go online and look at maps and study about different countries," she said.

A few years ago, Ryan started collecting flags from various countries all over the world, she said.

He discovered this year, in eighth grade, that Hampton Bays Middle School had a geography club and decided to join.

"After the first meeting, he knew that he wanted to try to win the local school bee," Nancy said. "He enjoyed the club so much."

After he won the local school bee, he took an online test to try to place in the top 100 scoring students in NY.

"We found out last week, he made it. He's always been a studious kid," Ryan's mom said, making earning presidential honors every quarter since the beginning of fifth grade, ranking All County in classical and jazz with his tenor sax, and also playing football and a mathlete.

"Ryan puts 100% into everything he does and we couldn't be more proud of him. I'm happy he is getting to do something he loves," she said. "Going to Albany is pretty exciting for this 13-year old."

When her son found out he made it to states, he was "just so surprised," Nancy said. "He didn't think he could compete against that many students and earn a spot. He did say that he will be happy just to go and compete in Albany. The national geography bee in Washington, D.C. would be an amazing experience, but he is happy for now just going to Albany. He's nervous, but will try and study as much as he can before April 6."

She laughed. "It's funny, because sometimes if his sister or I are watching the news and we don't know where a country is, we will go find him to ask."

When Ryan found out that he'd be headed to states, he said, "I was so surprised and very happy. I hope to make Hampton Bays Middle School proud."

Patch courtesy photos.