Thirteen-year old Evan Trask slowly walked down the hallway at his Kingsview Middle School Monday, pointing up to each flag and immediately stating the name of the country it represented.
The eighth grader qualified and will compete in the International Geography Bee in Vermont this July after earning a silver medal in regional finals in Baltimore.
But don’t think of the Germantown resident as someone who spends his every waking hour pouring through the internet and atlases. With a shrug, Trask admitted to not even starting to prepare for the upcoming competition and when it gets closer he’ll probably put in an hour to two daily.
“I usually just memorize it automatically. I just keep that information,” he said.
That means he knows “most” of the 193 member states in the United Nations, their flags and their capitals.
Trask also enjoys baseball and playing the euphonium. At school, he prefers physical education to geography and other subjects.
“Evan has been a diligent student in my class, an individual who sits down and works intentionally on the assignments, and continues to work on his studies if he finishes early,” said his social studies teacher Jamie Grossman. “Evan is always participating in class discussions.”
Grossman watched Trask when he competed at Kingsview’s geography bee. “I witnessed him effortlessly move through the rounds,” she said.
The international competition features a week long set of quizzes, competitions and field trips.
