If you are driving due west from Dodge City, which state will you first come to? In what state is the
world-famous Waimea Canyon? What is the Loire Valley famous for?
These are the types of questions that, if answered correctly, could earn high school students cash prizes and a
possible $25,000 college scholarship. Teenagers around the country are studying their geography extra hard this holiday
season to prepare for the fourth annual AAA Travel High School
Challenge which begins next month. The national contest aims to increase teens’ travel knowledge and geographic
literacy while creating awareness of career opportunities in the travel and tourism industry. It is open to U.S.
students from all 50 states in grades 9-12 (public, private or home-schooled) and begins with a 40-question online quiz
available from January 9-17, 2006. (There is a timed, 20-minute practice test available online right now — give it a
try!) The top five scorers in each state will take a proctored, written exam in early March, and the top scorer in each
state wins an expense-paid trip for two to compete in the national finals, which will be held May 13-16 at Universal
Orlando. Interested students can sign up for the contest any time between now and January 17. More than 63,000 students
participated in the Travel Challenge in 2005. It’s a creative way to test (and increase) your knowledge of the world
and win cool prizes too.