Stiles Middle School seventh-grader Shaurya Sharma is the new LISD Geography Bee champion. The district hosted the competition at Vandegrift High School last week, giving middle schoolers the chance to put their knowledge of international places and events to the test.

Each participating LISD campus sent three district qualifiers to the competition. In what was a close finish, it came down to Shaurya and Canyon Ridge Middle School eighth-grader Xavier Leffler, who took second place. 

As this year’s champion, Shaurya won a hard-bound world atlas inscribed by Superintendent Bruce Gearing Ed.D.   

In its 12th year, the district GeoBee highlights the talent of students with a natural curiosity about various worldwide topics, from monarch migration to mapping out biodiversity. Since October, participants have been preparing and studying for the opportunity to compete against fellow students from across the district.   

Leander ISD hosted a wide-open contest for the first time since 2017, which featured three-time champion Nihar Janga. Last year, Nihar advanced all the way to nationals where he won the National Geographic GeoBee in Washington, DC.