In February, middle school students at DeSales Catholic School took part in the National Geographic Bee. The field was narrowed down to 12 finalists who faced off in a question and answer round narrowing the field to two finalists, DeSales 7th grader, William Rahill and 8th grader, Benjamin Upshaw. Upshaw answered the final question correctly to take the title as DeSales’ National Geography Bee Champion. Rahill was named 1st runner up. Upshaw then successfully completed a written test to move in to the State competition in Albany, NY on March 31st. The competition at DeSales was facilitated by middle school teacher Mrs. Lori Asher.
The National Geographic Bee is an annual competition organized by the National Geographic Society, designed to inspire and reward students' curiosity about the world. Approximately 10,000 schools across the U.S. compete in the bee.
This is Ben’s second year winning the National Geographic Bee at DeSales and moving on to compete in Albany. The champions from each state competition qualified to compete in the National Geographic Bee Championship held at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., May 14-17, 2017.
Ben is the son of Benjamin and Lillie Upshaw of Lockport.