MIDDLEBURY — Mary Hogan School fifth-grader Kirin Biancosino is one of the semifinalists eligible to compete in the 2019 National Geographic GeoBee Vermont State Competition at Southern Vermont College in Bennington, on Friday, March 29. He is the son of Amit Prakash and Michole Biancosino of Middlebury.
This is the second level of the National Geographic GeoBee competition. School GeoBees were held in schools with fourth- through eighth-grade students throughout the state to determine each school champion. School champions then took an online qualifying test, which they submitted to the National Geographic Society. The National Geographic Society then invited the top-scoring students in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense Dependents Schools and U.S. territories to compete in the State GeoBees.
State champions will receive a medal, $1,000 in cash and other prizes, as well as a trip to Washington, D.C., to represent their state in the National Championship to be held at National Geographic Society headquarters on May 19-22, 2019. Students that come in second and third place will receive cash awards of $300 and $100, respectively.
Each State Champion will advance to the National Championship and compete for cash awards and college scholarships. In 2019, the national champion will receive a $25,000 college scholarship, $1,000 in cash, a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society, and an all-expenses-paid Lindblad expedition to the Galápagos Islands aboard the National Geographic Endeavour ll; second place will receive at $10,000 college scholarship and $1,000 in cash; third place will receive a $5,000 college scholarship and $1,000 in cash; and seven runners-up will receive $1,000 in cash each. 
Biancosino is very excited and a bit nervous. He’s going to try his best and is really looking forward to having a family trip to Bennington, which he’s never visited before. He also won two bronze medals in youth fencing at the Middlebury Open last weekend; so, after that and winning the school GeoBee he said to his father, “Wow, Dad. I had a good week!”