BENTONVILLE -- D.J. Quezada's fascination with geography became apparent during the 2008 Summer Olympics.
His mother, Jennifer Quezada, tells the story of how D.J., who was 6 at the time, sat riveted in front of the television during the Parade of Nations, a portion of the Olympics' opening ceremony.
Test your knowledge
D.J. Quezada won the Arkansas National Geographic Bee in April by answering the following question.
Q: In the 1700s, Captain James Cook traversed the treacherous strait that separates the island of New Guinea from the Cape York peninsula in Australia. Name this strait.
A: Torres Strait
Source: Staff report
"He was sitting on the floor, and he had his globe out in front of him and his atlas next to him," Jennifer Quezada said. "And as each country was coming through, he was looking at the image on the screen of the country and flipping the globe around trying to find it, and then he would look for it in the atlas if he had time."
His love of geography hasn't diminished. His knowledge certainly has grown.
D.J., 14, of Cave Springs returned Thursday from a weeklong trip to Washington, where he represented Arkansas in the 28th annual National Geographic Bee.
The preliminary rounds of the bee took place Monday. D.J. finished one point short of qualifying for a tie-breaker to advance to the finals, he said. Only 10 of the 54 students who competed made it to the final round.
"I feel I did very well for not having had any experience in nationals," said D.J., an eighth-grader at Haas Hall Academy in Bentonville.
This was D.J.'s last year of eligibility for the National Geographic Bee. It's open to students in grades four through eight.
Rishi Nair, a sixth-grader from Seffner, Fla., was this year's champion. He won a $50,000 scholarship, a trip to Alaska and a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society.
Geography bee questions are varied and often complex. They're not as simple as identifying capital cities.
Rishi clinched his victory by correctly answering, "A new marine sanctuary will protect sharks and other wildlife around Isla Wolf in which archipelago in the Pacific Ocean?"
The answer: the Galapagos Islands.
This was the second straight year Arkansas was represented at the national bee by someone from the northwest part of the state.
Sojas Wagle, who was an eighth-grader at Springdale's Southwest Junior High School at the time, finished third in last year's competition. Sojas earned a $10,000 college scholarship for his performance.
D.J., short for Daniel Joseph, advanced to state geography bees three times before winning this year's Arkansas bee. His first state bee was as a fifth-grader in Florida. Then he moved to Arkansas, where he finished second as a sixth-grader and fourth as a seventh-grader at the state bee.
Eligibility for the national geography bee begins at the school level, so D.J. and his parents wanted to make sure Haas Hall held a contest.
Anjeanette Levings, a history and civics teacher, took responsibility for organizing the school's bee.
"We had some students interested in it," Levings said. "We wanted to make sure they had every opportunity to showcase their knowledge."
Even the students who initially were unsure of themselves heading into the competition really got into it, she said. The room where the school bee was held was packed with spectators.
"We'll have to have it in a larger venue next year," Levings said.
She said it's been a pleasure getting to know D.J., who she taught in class and coached in cross country.
"He has a wealth of knowledge but is always ready to take in more," Levings said. "He is a genuine seeker of knowledge."
D.J. said he looks forward to next year's school geography bee, even though he'll be too old to participate. He's willing to mentor the younger students and is thinking of starting a geography club at the school.
The National Geographic Bee overlapped with another famous bee held near Washington: the 89th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. That bee also featured a Benton County resident as its only representative from Arkansas. Pavani Chittemsetty, 10, of Bentonville lasted three rounds in the spelling bee before being eliminated late Wednesday.
NW News on 05/28/2016