SIX MILE — Preston Finley, a fifth-grade student at Six Mile Elementary, recently qualified for the state finals of the National Geographic Bee.
Finley was selected after scoring high enough to qualify on the state-level written examination. The top 100 scorers from around the state are selected to compete in the state bee.
The State Geography Bee will be held at the State Museum in Columbia on Friday, April 1.
Finley was Six Mile Elementary’s winner at the school-level geography bee held on Jan. 7.
The state winner will receive $100, the Complete National Geographic on DVD and a trip to Washington, D.C., to represent South Carolina and compete at the national finals held at the National Geographic Society headquarters on May 24 and 25.
The first-place winner at the national competition will receive a $25,000 college scholarship and an all expenses paid trip to the Galapagos Islands, where he or she will “experience geography firsthand through up-close encounters with the wildlife and landscape of Galapagos.”
Travel for the student and one parent or guardian for the trip will be provided by Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic.