EDISON — A township eighth-grader showed that he knows his place in the world — and a whole lot of other places, too.
Karan Menon, a student at John Adams Middle School, was crowned state champion at the 2015 National Geographic Bee at Rowan University, Glassboro.
He will compete for the National Geographic Bee Championship in Washington, D.C., May 11-13.
“We are very proud of Karan. His achievement is representative of John Adams Middle School and the Edison Township Public Schools,” Principal Joan Valentine said. “He followed his passion to achieve success.”
Having placed second in last year’s bee, Karan honed his skills to grab the top prize this year among 110 fourth- through eighth-grade competitors on March 27. Along with an allexpenses paid trip to the national competition, Karan won a $100 cash prize.
The national championship preliminary rounds will take place May 11. The final rounds, featuring the top 10 finalists and moderated by award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien, will be held May 13 at National Geographic’s District of Columbia headquarters.
The national champion will receive a $50,000 college scholarship and a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society, which includes a lifetime subscription to National Geographic magazine and a trip to the Galápagos Islands, courtesy of Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic. Secondand third-place finishers will receive $25,000 and $10,000 college scholarships, respectively.
Organized by the National Geographic Society, the 2015 National Geographic Bee is sponsored by Google.
The National Geographic Channel will air the final round of the championship at 8 p.m. May 15. It will be aired later on public television stations; check local television listings for dates and times.