ELIZABETHTOWN — Max Dilello, a seventh-grade student at Elizabethtown Christian Academy, won the school competition of the National Geographic Bee on Wednesday, Nov. 29, and a chance at a $50,000 college scholarship.

The school Bee, at which students answered questions on geography, was the first round in the 30th annual National Geographic Bee, a geography competition designed to inspire and reward students’ curiosity about the world.

Thousands of schools around the U.S. and in the five U.S. territories are participating in the 2018 National Geographic Bee. The school champions, including Dilello, will take a qualifying test — up to 100 of the top scorers on that test in each state will then be eligible to compete in their state Bee on April 6, 2018.

The National Geographic Society will provide an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., for state winners to participate in the Bee national championship rounds May 20-23, 2018. The 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-expense-paid Lindblad expedition to the Galápagos Islands aboard the new National Geographic Endeavour II. 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.

The National Geographic Society developed the Bee in 1989 in response to concern about the lack of geographic knowledge among young people in the U.S. Over three decades, 1,583 state champions have traveled to D.C. to participate in the finals and more than $1.5 million in college scholarship money has been awarded to winners of the competition by the National Geographic Society.

Courtesy photo Travis Taylor, front left, was the third-place winner in the National Geographic Bee at Elizabethtown Christian Academy; Max Dilello, front right, was the first-place winner in the Bee; Olivia Hill, back left, was the second-place winner. They are standing with David Vaught ECA’s middle school social studies teacher.
https://www.bladenjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_ECA.jpgCourtesy photo Travis Taylor, front left, was the third-place winner in the National Geographic Bee at Elizabethtown Christian Academy; Max Dilello, front right, was the first-place winner in the Bee; Olivia Hill, back left, was the second-place winner. They are standing with David Vaught ECA’s middle school social studies teacher.

Staff report