Going places

Jason DiRusso has competed in the national geography bee since fourth grade, but this year was the first time the Pizitz Middle School eighth-grader got to try out his knowledge against students across the nation.

In May, DiRusso traveled to Washington, D.C., with 53 other finalists to compete in the championships of the geography bee that the National Geographic Society hosts every year, testing children’s knowledge of international history, culture and, of course, geography. This was DiRusso’s first time to win the Alabama state bee and qualify for the championship, though he has previously competed at the state level in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

“I enjoy studying geography and learning more about the world around me. I also enjoy learning about present-day events around the world. I have loved maps since kindergarten and love to travel,” DiRusso said.

DiRusso credits the Pizitz Scholars Bowl team and teacher sponsors for helping him prepare for the championship, along with online quizzes and study resources. He said he spent plenty of time looking at atlases of the world.

He reaped the rewards at the state bee earlier this spring.

“When I found out that I had won the state bee, I was smiling like crazy. I felt like all my work had paid off and that I was proud of myself for studying for the bee instead of playing games over my spring break,”DiRusso said.

At the national championship, held May 14-17, DiRusso said the nerves and suspense got to him for a while until he was able to relax into the flow of the game. They went through several preliminary rounds, but there was also time for the contestants to get to knoweach other.

Since the national championship is televised, DiRusso said the experience was different from previous bees. They pre-filmed segments of the kids clapping or laughing, and there were sometimes long breaks to move cameras or do other behind-the-scenes work.

“It took over two-and-a-half hours to film a show that only lasts an hour, including commercials and the extra bits they put in they had filmed earlier. The host, Mo Rocca, was really funny and knew a fact about chickens that he used repetitively,” DiRusso said.

He came up just short of competing in the final round, scoring 11 points while the top 10 finalists had 13 to 14 points. However, that didn’t dampen the fun of the experience.

“My favorite part of the trip was when all of the students in the bee went bowling the night before the final competition. I didn’t do so well at bowling that day, but I had fun all the same,” he said.

The trip was also a chance for DiRusso to see some of the places he’s studied in books. Along with his family, DiRusso got to visit the National Gallery of Art, the National Museum of American History and see several embassies. National Geographic also arranged for the contestants and families to take a trolley tour with sights including the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial, World War II Memorial and ArlingtonNational Cemetery. 

“The kids from schools all over the country were funny and easy to get along with. We had a lot of time together and got to know each other a bit. I made new friends and will probably stay in touch with some of them,” DiRusso said.