Schools

Montville Student Represents NJ in National Geographic Bee

Charlie Mills of Trinity Christian School was the only representative of the state of New Jersey and answered seven of the nine questions correctly in the preliminary round.

A lone student represented New Jersey at this year's National Geographic Bee.

Charlie Mills, a seventh grader at Trinity Christian School in Montville, joined students from all over the nation in Washington D.C. in May to compete for a $50,000 scholarship prize.

The preliminary round of the competition was a rapid-fire round of nine geography-related questions, with the top 10 finishers moving on to the final round. Mills answered seven out of the nine questions.

“Charlie has worked very hard to master the rudimentary aspects of geography, and moved beyond the simple knowledge of place names on a map to understand more and more about how physical place impacts the lives of everyday human beings,” stated Jeff Holcomb, administrator at Trinity Christian School.  “We, along with his parents, are very proud of his achievement.”

Participants who attended the event in D.C. were narrowed down from 4 million applicants, with only 10 going on to the final competition, which was moderated by CNN's Soledad O'Brien.

Akhil Rekulapelli, an eighth grader from Virginia, ultimately took top honors in the competition.


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