Sixth-grader earns top finish at geography bee

Sixth grader Ian Harper placed first in the recent Liberty Park Middle School Geography Bee. Greg Jeane, a retired geography professor from Samford University, was the contest officiator. Seventh-grader Quaid Rasmussen placed second, and sixth-grader Thomas Wade placed third.

Once he found out that he had qualified for the bee, Harper visited the National Geographic GeoBee website and took the site’s daily geography quiz. All sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students at LPMS took a qualifier test. The 30 students with the highest scores participated in the school-wide bee. As the school winner, Harper will take a test that may qualify him for the Alabama State Geography Bee. 

Only the top 75 school winners make it to the state event. State winners will participate in the National Geographic Bee in Washington, D.C. The overall winner will receive a $25,000 scholarship plus a trip with National Geographic and “Jeopardy” host Alex Trebek to the Galapagos Islands.