Liberty Middle School Student Heading to State Geography Bee

A Liberty Middle School eighth grade student has qualified to compete in the New Jersey state competition of the 2015 National Geographic Geography Bee, according to school district officials.

Matt Kotowski was the top scorer for Liberty Middle School at the Mathcounts Competition held at New Jersey Institute of Technology on Feb. 14, West Orange Public Schools said in a release. The state geography bee will be held on Friday, March 27, at Rowan University, in Glassboro, New Jersey.

After winning the Liberty Middle School geography bee in February, Kotowski took a series of tests and qualified as one of the top 100 students in the state to participate in the National Geographic Geography Bee at Rowan University, the release said.

State geography bee winners receive $100 and a trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the national championship, at the National Geographic Society headquarters. The winner of the national championship will receive a $50,000 college scholarship, lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and a trip to the Galapagos Islands.

“We’re very excited to see Matt advance to the state Geography competition,” Bob Klemt, Liberty Middle School principal, said in the release from West Orange Public Schools. “He’s an outstanding student and we’re proud of all his hard work.”

For more information regarding the National Geographic Geography Bee, visit the National Geographic website.

(Photo courtesy of West Orange Public Schools)