Gupta wins Gulf Breeze Middle Geographic Bee

Submitted Photo A total of 27 students competed in the GBMS Geography Bee.

Gulf Breeze Middle School crowned its top geography students Jan. 12. Nathan Gupta placed first and Mitchell DeKozan and James Mozur placed second and third respectively in the school level competition of the National Geographic Bee and Gupta secured a chance to win a $25,000 college scholarship.

The school level bee, where students answered oral questions on geography, was the first round in the 19th annual National Geographic Bee, sponsored by the National Geographic Society.

"This was such a wonderful educational experience for me as an educator and I'm already looking forward to next year," said seventh grade geography teacher JoAnn Considine.

The kick off for this year's Bee was the week of Nov. 13, with thousands of schools around the United States participating. The overall school winners, including Gupta, will now take a written test. Up to 100 of the top scorers in each state will be eligible to compete in their state Bee March 30.

The National Geographic Society, one of the world's largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations will provide an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., for state champions and teacher chaperones to participate in the national championship May 22 and 23. The first place winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship and a lifetime member ship in the 118-year-old society.

B.J. Davis/Gulf Breeze News Top three finishers Mitchell DeKozan, James Mozur and Nathan Gupta were the three winners in National Geographic Bee held at Gulf Breeze Middle School.

"Jeopardy" host Alex Trabek will moderate the national finals on May 23. The program will be televised, so be sure to check local listings for dates and times.

School level judges and moderators were GBMS Principal Jennifer Granse, Vice Principal Richard Cobb, Patti Kattner, Melanie Waite, and school district administrator Clark Youngblood.

Students who made it to the final round were: Gupta, DeKozan, Mozur, Nick Bookout, RJ Burns, Lauryn Carnley, Constanza Miguel, Haley Phillips, Kevin Rollins and Tyler Wright.

The rest of the schoolwide contestants were Summer Andrews, Jordan Battel, Evan Bernard, Ben Gibbons, Kate Lincova-Henning, Megan Hinote, Landry Lowrimore, Jay Martin, Blake Meredith, YNhu Ngo, Claney Outzen, Michael Rietz, Elizabeth Smith, Alyse Tack, Connor Torraco, Brandon Voyt and Camille Wood.

For more information on the nationwide contest and to brush up on geography, visit www.nationalgeographic.com/ geobee.