Local Student Matthew Ticknor Hoping to Meet Alex Trebek in D.C.

A seventh-grader at College Prep Middle School on Jackson Drive in La Mesa has taken the first step in a journey he hopes will end with a visit to Washington for the National Geographic Bee moderated by Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek.

Matthew Ticknor, the son of Matthew and Catherine Ticknor of Santee, won his school’s geobee Jan. 12, the school announced. The only other La Mesa school entered is Mount Helix Academy on Severin Drive, according to the contest’s website.

The school-level bee, where students answered oral questions on geography, was the first round in the 24th annual National Geographic Bee, sponsored by Google.

Top prize is a $25,000 college scholarship.

School winners, including Matthew, 12, will now take a written test due Jan. 31; up to 100 of the top scorers on that test in each state will then be eligible to compete in their state bee on March 30, the school said.

The National Geographic Society pays for state champions and teacher escorts to attend the national championship rounds May 22-24.

Besides the college scholarship, the national winner wins a lifetime membership in the society, and a trip to the Galapagos Islands, courtesy of Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic.

Trebek will moderate the nationally televised finals on May 24.