Erik Huisman  after his win with mother, Stacy and Randall Middle School History teachers Mr. Eckstein and Mrs. Homan.

Above Photo: Erik Huisman  after his win with mother, Stacy and Randall Middle School History teachers Mr. Eckstein and Mrs. Homan.

Randall Middle School sixth grader, Erik Huisman, has qualified as a semifinalists to compete in the 2018 Florida National Geographic State Bee. The contest will be held at Jacksonville University, Jacksonville on Friday, April 6. Erik, a well-traveled military kid, recently won his school competition beating dozens of other sixth, seventh and eighth grade geography lovers. This is Erik’s second time winning a school Geography Bee. He won last year at his school in Germany at Ramstein Intermediate School, Ramstein AB.

This is the second level of the National Geographic Bee competition, which is now in its 30th year. School Bees were held in schools with fourth through eighth grade students throughout the state to determine each school champion. School champions then took a qualifying test, which they submitted to the National Geographic Society. The National Geographic Society has invited up to 100 of the top-scoring students in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense Dependents Schools and U.S. territories to compete in the State Bees.

To celebrate the 30th annual National Geographic Bee, the cash prize for the top three students in each state has doubled. Each state champion will receive $200, the National Geographic Visual Atlas of the World, 2nd Edition and a trip to Washington, D.C., to represent their state in the National Geographic Bee Championship to be held at National Geographic Society headquarters, May 20-23. Students that come in second place will receive $150 and those that come in third will receive $100.

The first-place national champion will receive a $50,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the Society, including a subscription to National Geographic magazine, and an all-expenses-paid Lindblad expedition to the Galápagos Islands aboard the new National Geographic Endeavour ll. Second- and third-place finishers will receive $25,000 and $10,000 college scholarships, respectively.

Visit www.natgeobee.org for more information on the National Geographic Bee.
Good luck, Erik.

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