Monmouth Junction Kid Takes Geography Knowledge to the Next Level

It all started with an interest in looking at maps. Soon,  eighth-grader Siddharth Kurella took a childhood love of geography to go on to represent South Brunswick for the last two years in the National Geographic Geography Bee. Siddharth, who finished in the top 10 last year, will make his final attempt at winning the Bee at the state competition on Friday.

"I remember when I was about 6-years-old my parents showed me a map and bought me a globe, and I started looking at all the different countries," Siddarth said. "Then I just wanted to know more about everything."

To advance to the National GeoBee is no easy feat in and of itself. Students in grades 4-8 first must compete at the school level against their classmates, answering questions like, "Which of the following cities has the least average annual rainfall? Sydney, Belize City or Kabul?"

Then the local champions take a standardized test to qualify for the state competition, with only the top 100 scores accepted.

"We know he's very prepared and doing his best, but as a parent you get anxious during the competition," said Siddarth's mother Lakshmi. "A lot of the questions he's asked I'm completely lost on and don't have a clue. But he's preparing and will be ready. We're really proud of him and hope he does well this year."

Just preparing for the competition is a task that takes many hours of preparation, with Siddarth's parents asking him various questions to make sure he's ready.

"I spend a lot of time looking at maps and reading various information that might come up," he said. "You really don't know what they're going to ask, so you have to prepare for almost anything and put in a lot of work."

The competition includes questions about different cities around the world, rivers, islands, physical features, world geography, and current events.

Siddarth said he spends a couple of hours afterschool each day and on the weekends to make sure he's ready for the intensity of the Bee.

"When I'm up there competing I'm always focused, but sometimes I get nervous and really tense," he said. "I feel pretty confident this year. I got 10th place last time and I think I can do better and go further this year. When you miss a question you feel a little sad because you know you could've done better, but it makes me proud to have gotten this far."

The state competition will take place on Mar. 30 at Rowan University. The national competition will take place at the end of May.

Are you as smart as a GeoBee? Take the quiz here to find out.