Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2011-03-30

 

Samford University will host 100 of the state’s top geography students Friday, April 1, at the State Geographic Bee. The final round will begin at 3 p.m. in Brock Forum, located in Dwight Beeson Hall.

The competitors are all in grades four through eight. Each qualified for the state 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 26 Alabama counties.

The winner of Friday’s competition at Samford will receive a $100 cash prize, an Atlas and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the national finals May 25-26. 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. WBRC  Fox 6 co-anchor Rick Journey will emcee.

Last year’s state winner was James Niiler, then a sixth grader from Tuscaloosa. He correctly answered “Red Sea” to the question, “Jeddah is the port of the holy city of Mecca and is located on what body of water?” in the final round to capture the title.

 

 
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.