May 17, 2005

Geography Puts GW on the Map

A team of nine undergraduate and graduate students from The George Washington University, representing the Mid-Atlantic region, won its first national World Geography Bowl competition in Denver, CO. The event was held at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers (AAG).

The team faced off against eight regional teams from across the country through seven grueling rounds of competition. Each round consisted of 12 individual toss-up questions and two team questions. The GW team won six of its seven rounds, qualifying for the finals. In the final round the team faced geographers from the Rocky Mountains/Great Plains division to win the national championship.

The co-captains, Derek Azar and Devin Keithley, led the team in scoring. Keithley, a second-year master’s student in geography, received the MVP award for having the highest average score per round. Azar, a first year student in the geography MA program, had the second highest all-around score. Pedro Martinez, a junior double-majoring in geography and political science, had the highest average score for an undergraduate.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu