May 21, 2014
Zaina Kahuk
News Writer
Headlines
Fourteen-year-old, Akhil Rekulapelli, won the title of the National Geographic Bee on Wednesday. Akhil competed against nine other finalists and answered all three questions correctly in a one-on-one showdown with his youngest competitor, 11-year-old Ameya Mujumdar, of Tampa, Florida. Akhil received a $50,000 scholarship, a trip to the Galapagos Islands with his family and lifetime membership from the National Geographic Society. The scholarship amount doubled from last year after Jeopardy host, Alex Trebec, donated to the Bee after stepping down as host. This year journalist, Soledad O’Brien hosted the event. Runner-up, Mujumdar, received a $25,000 scholarship. Tuvya Bergson-Michelson, from Hillsborough, California, placed third and receives a $10,000 scholarship, and Pranit Nanda, of Aurora, Colorado, came in fourth and took home $1,000 in cash. “I probably want to be the head of a department at a hospital, try to graduate at the top of my class, but I think, right now, this is probably the biggest accomplishment I’ll ever achieve in probably 20, 30 years,” said Akhil.
