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Asha Jain is a 13-year- old 7th grader at Minocqua-Hazelhurst- Lake Tomahawk Elementary School in Minocqua, northwestern Wisconsin. She holds six club records in swimming and earned 5th and 8th places in a state swim meet. She enjoys music, movies and playing the flute. She’d like to visit Brazil. ➡ …

Sean Ives is a 13-year- old 7th grader at Trinity Lutheran School in Crown Point, south of Gary. He enjoys basketball, playing piano, reading maps and creating with Legos. The best place he’s visited is Venice, Italy, where he was the map navigator. He’d like to go to London. Among …

Will DiGrande is a 14-year-old 8th grader at Warren Middle School in Warren, southwest of Newark. He is captain of his school’s academic team and was honored as a Rutgers Knight in Shining Armor for his positive attitude and service to the community. He enjoys playing soccer, basketball and tennis. …

Ricky Uppaluri is an 11-year-old 5th grader at Fulton Sunshine Academy in Roswell, a suburb of Atlanta. He likes looking at maps and reading chapter books. Among those he admires are his grandparents, uncle and aunt, as they introduced him to geography. The best place he’s been is Agra, India; …

Akhil Rekulapelli is a 12-year-old 7th grader at Stone Hill Middle School in Ashburn, near Washington, D.C. He plays the clarinet in his school’s top band, is on the all-A honor roll and is a 1st degree black belt in tae kwon do. The best place he’s been is Costa …

Mahit Vaddadi is a 13-year-old 8th grader at Eagle View Middle School in Mechanicsburg, near Harrisburg. He plays the piano and violin and enjoys swimming and travel soccer. If he could be anyone else, he’d be U.N. secretary general. The best place he’s been is India, where he met his …

Josh Nkoy is a 14-year- old 8th grader at Challenger School in Sandy, where he has served as student body president. He’s won the school speech competition seven times and the regional competition twice. What he likes about geography is it’s not just where, it’s the why of where. He …

Harish Palani is a 13-year-old 7th grader at Stoller Middle School in Portland. He represented Oregon at the 2011 National Geographic Bee. What he likes best about geography is that it helps him appreciate the diversity of our planet. He hopes to get a job with Google Earth or Google …

Andrew Christy is a 12-year-old 7th grader at St. Francis de Sales Central Catholic School in Morgantown. He represented West Virginia at the 2012 National Geographic Bee. Interests include cross-country and track, playing the piano, biking, reading and camping. He may become an architect. ➡ Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe About National Geographic: …

Cécile Girard is a 13-year-old 7th grader at Bishop Noland Episcopal Day School in Lake Charles. She has won a state handwriting contest. She enjoys playing basketball, biking and reading. A fluent French speaker, her favorite destination is the village of Marchemaisons in Normandy, where her grandparents live. ➡ Subscribe: …