Geography knowledge pays off
ADAMS TWP — The Mars School District will be represented at the state Geography Bee on March 27 in Harrisburg.
Adrian Zugehar, a 12-year-old seventh grader at Mars Middle School, on Jan. 14 won the Mars Geography Bee.
Adrian, along with thousands of students across the state, then took a written test from the National Geographic Bee organization in an attempt to qualify for the state competition.
He was thrilled to learn that he was among the top 100 scorers on the test and will advance to the state competition. The state winner will advance to the national contest, which will be held May 11-13 at the National Geographic Society’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
“It feels pretty good,” Adrian said of the news that he has made it to state competition.
He said he will travel with his mother, Becky Miller, and father, Glenn Zugehar, to Harrisburg, where the family will stay with a cousin.
Adrian said until then, he will study for the state competition for about an hour per day. He also will receive coaching from a Mars High School student who competed at the state level a few years ago.
At this year’s bee, Adrian answered the final question correctly with “Greece.” The question asked what Mediterranean state at the tip of the Balkan Peninsula is Europe’s leading producer of cotton.
Adrian said he knew the answer because he had recently studied the area in his social studies class. He only missed three questions in the Mars bee, which included about a dozen questions.
“It’s really fun and I’ve learned a lot over the past few years,” he said.
Miller said she and her husband are proud of Adrian, especially since he made it to the state competition. She said her son practiced a lot in the past several weeks.
“We’ve all learned a lot about geography, too,” Miller said.
Mars Centennial School Principal Todd Lape, who was this year’s bee coordinator, called Adrian a great student and hard worker.
“For someone to get to that level, it shows his dedication and commitment to education,” Lape said.
Lape said Adrian will have a pretty good chance of clinching the state title.
“I’m very proud of him,” Lape said. “He should represent the district well.”
