Ashburn Student Among Nat-Geo Bee Finalists

Stone Hill Middle School seventh-grader Akhil Rekulapelli was be among 10 finalists in the 25th annual National Geographic Geography Bee, which will be aired tonight.

The preliminary round took place Monday. The top 10 finishers — from the field of 54 state-level winners who took part in the prelims — competed in the final round today at The National Theatre in Washington, DC, which will be simulcast in prime time on the National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo WILD at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 23rd.

The winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship, lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and a trip to the Galápagos Islands. Second- and third-place winners will receive $15,000 and $10,000 college scholarships respectively.

The 10 finalists are:

• Tuvya Bergson-Michelson, California
• Pranit Nanda, Colorado
• Ricky Uppaluri, Georgia
• Conrad Oberhaus, Illinois
• Sathwik Karnik, Massachusetts
• Neha Middela, Michigan
• Neelam Sandhu, New Hampshire
• Harish Palani, Oregon
• Akhil Rekulapelli, Virginia
• Asha Jain, Wisconsin