The ten National Geographic Bee finalists range in age from 10 to 14, and I was able to chat with the youngest competitor, ten-year-old Benjamin Taylor, soon after he learned that he’d be moving on to tomorrow’s championship round. Here he is just moments after the anouncement, smiling with his proud dad.
Ben is a vibrant and enthusiastic kid from West Virginia, who is proud of the fact that he is home-schooled. He’s a 5th-grader representing the Monongalia Homeschoolers Association in Morgantown. He told me that he studied over 70 hours to prepare for the National Bee, and that it was definitely a different experience than the state competition back home in West Virginia. He answered eight questions correctly in this morning’s preliminary round. The only one he missed was the analogy question.
I met with Ben, his dad John, mom Grace and younger brother Joseph, who said he did not help Ben study for the competition. Ben is a Cub Scout who plays piano and enjoys sports. He said in his event bio that he admires Al Gore for his work on global warming and Frank Lloyd Wright for his architecture. He’d like to visit Japan and I asked him about this.
Ben had studied quite a bit about Shikoku, the smallest of the four big islands of Japan. “I haven’t even left the country yet,” he told me, “…but I really like Shikoku because it is lush and green.” I asked Ben if he though his first trip overseas would be to visit this beautiful island and as he shrugged, mom chimed in, “No, it will probably be something like Niagara Falls in Canada!” A little closer to home, but another beautiful spot that I’m sure Ben could find on a map in no time!
We’ll be sure to keep our eye on this cheerful and environmentally conscious competitor during tomorrow’s final. Good luck Ben!