Florida News
Ameya Mujumdar, 11, of tampa excels in National Geographic Bee
A Tampa fifth-grader took second place at the recent National Geographic Bee competition in Washington, D.C. Ameya Mujumdar, 11, of Turner Elementary School won a College Scholarship of $25,000. Akhil Rekulapelli of Virginia correctly answered the decisive question to win the championship. “Which African country is in the process of relocating its capital to Oyala, which is 65 miles North East of Bata?” The answer is Equatorial Guinea.
The prestigious competition tests students from 4th to 8th grade on geographical knowledge, including political, economical, historical and physical geography. More than four million students participated across the country and 54 state-level winners made it to the national finals where a preliminary round narrowed the field to 10 finalists.
Ameya attributes his success to hard work, support from his parents, school, friends and his coaches Aadith Moorthy (2010 National Champion) and Subramaniam Satyamoorthy who taught him since last year as well as the Tampa Geobee group led by Kumar Nandur. Ameya’s parents Ajit and Renuka, originally from Nagpur, attribute Ameya’s success at such a young age to his passion about geography, hardworking attitude and a humble and respectful behavior.
“I relax my mind by playing piano and chess, and aspire to attend Harvard University to study aerospace engineering and work in NASA.” What next? Ameya says spelling bee is definitely on his mind.
For information on the National Geographic Bee, visit
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee
HEALTH FAIR HELD AT TAMPA HINDU TEMPLE
Several hundred attendees and nearly 50 physicians participated in the 16th annual Community Health Fair on May 17 at the Hindu Temple of Florida community hall in Tampa. The volunteer-run community service has been a tradition at the temple since 1998. Volunteers and physicians alike worked together to bring free screenings and health information services to the public.
