CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — One Coastal Bend student has put himself on the map. Eighth-grader Ashrith Reedy won first place at the National Geographic competition in Chicago.
"Dear Ashrith, congratulations on your victory on the US geography Olympiad," Reedy said.
Reedy is a student at Baker Middle School but is already making waves in the world of geography.
"Enclosed is your champions check. best of luck in 2019/ 2020," Reedy said.
Reedy returned from Chicago after taking home first place at a national geography competition after placing fourth in 2018.
"He was representing south Texas by himself, it was great," teacher Kasey Smith said.
Reedy competed against 150 in his age group completing a written and buzzer test.
"It's so hard to pinpoint what to study with these competitions because it's not just geography and history. It's a wide range of topics," Smith said.
Topics discussed were geology or current affairs.
"Little did I know that all the TV he was watching would take him to where he is today," mother Veena Reedy said.
According to Ashrith, his love for geography started when he was in kindergarten.
"In her curriculum, she had a lot of world culture projects, and then we had to do them about different countries, different areas," Reedy said.
Reedy credits his parents for supporting his passion for learning.
"Whenever I was just intrigued by something, I would try to check it out. watch shows about it everything to satisfy my interests," Reedy said.
According to Reedy, he wants to be a doctor like his dad, which is what he continues to explore.
"I aspire to be an orthopedic surgeon. geography is a nice side hobby for me," Reedy said.