Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2009-03-30

Alabama's top 100 geography students will compete in the State Geographic Bee at Samford University Friday, April 3. The final round will be at 3 p.m. in Brock Forum, Dwight Beeson Hall.

The competitors, all in grades four through eight, qualified for the event after winning contests in their school and placing among the top 100 scorers in the state on a test administered by the National Geographic Society. They represent schools in 29 Alabama counties.

The winner of Friday's competition will receive a $100 cash prize, a National Geographic Collegiate Atlas of the World and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the national finals May 19-20. The championship round of the national event will air nationally on the National Geographic Channel.

Amanda Williams, a teacher in Homewood City Schools, is coordinator of the state finals.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.