Geo Nut flies to Orlando

By Lakhpreet Kaur

Did you know…

China has more English speakers than the United States?

In France, there is a place called Y?

Mexico city sinks 10 inches every year?

Know all your states and capitals? How about rivers and mountains? Better study, there’s $25,000 on the line.

On April 24, senior Andy Schwark flies out to Universal Orlando to compete in AAA’s Travel High School Challenge to participate in a geography and tourism competition.

After placing in the top 5% of the nation on geography based written tests, Schwark was named the “number one” contestant from Wisconsin and now moves onto Nationals. “I was kind of surprised,” recalled Schwark, “I didn’t know how I would do compared to the other contestants.”

“Some of the questions were easy,” he remembered, “One was ‘Which of the following is not an island?’ and the answer was ‘Kansas.’ ” Others, however, were more difficult such as “Where can you find the tallest light house in the world?” With the answer being, “Japan.”

At nationals, all participants are first given a written exam to “eliminate some of the riff raff,” Schwark joked. The top scores then move on to the last round, which is a team based game show. The winners of this game each receive $25,000 in scholarship. Second place is awarded with $10,000.

“I’m excited to see how it turns out,” said Schwark who owes his success to his early interest in geography and travel. “I’m considered a ‘geo nut,’” he said. “I love seeing and experiencing things first hand,” he explained. Schwark has been to numerous countries including studying abroad in France and teaching in Japan.

While assessing the competition Schwark said, “I hope to do well and get a tan.”