Ortonville- Delaney Sebring isn’t a world traveler yet? she’s only 12, but she knows enough about the world to get her a trip to Kalamazoo to compete in the National Geographic State Bee.
Delaney, an Ortonville resident and seventh grade student at Holy Family School in Grand Blanc, will compete with 100 other top geography students from around the state on March 27 at Western Michigan University.
‘I was really surprised,? said Delaney. ‘My parents might have been more excited than me. The state bee winner gets $100 and then gets to go to the national bee. If you win that, it’s a $50,000 scholarship and a trip to the Galapagos Islands. That would be really exciting.?
Delaney participated with all seventh and eighth grade students at her school in a geography bee, which she won. She then took a qualifying test, submitted to the National Geographic Society, which selects up to the top 100 scoring students in each state, as well as the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and Department of Defense dependent schools to compete in state bees. ‘I really like geography because I like seeing all the different places and wonders of the world,? said Delaney. ‘I’ve never been the best at it, but the questions were ones I knew.?
Questions on the qualifying test included:
‘Taylor Swift performed songs from her album ‘Red? last summer in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of which Asian country that borders the South China Sea?? (answer: Malaysia), and ‘Disney’s blockbuster movie ‘Frozen? is set in the fictional land of Arendelle, which was largely inspired by the country of Norway. Norway is located on which European peninsula? (answer: Scandinavian Peninsula)
So far in her young life, Delaney has been on a cruise in which she traveled to Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Haiti and Mexico. She has also been to Florida and Alabama and will go to Alaska this summer.
‘We usually travel around Michigan,? she said. ‘I really would like to go to Europe, and see Italy, Spain, France and the Mediterranean. I just think all the architecture is cool and want to see all the older buildings.?
For now, she is using all her free time to study and having her parents quiz her on countries, rivers, mountains, capitals and more. In her geography class, she is learning about African countries.
‘Africa is interesting because they have all the trade routes,? Delaney said. ‘I think the hardest part is memorizing and pronouncing some of the African names… The Pacific Ocean islands are also hard because there are so many and the same with the Philippines and Indonesia, there are a lot of islands there.?
Delaney is the daughter of Jim and Corene Sebring.