THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 29, 1996 TAG: 9603290459
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DENISE WATSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Knowing the longitude lines of the rain forest continent in the southern hemisphere is the easy stuff for Lathika Mohan.
The capitals of the not-so-major cities of the world don't often stump Mohan.
Earning a spot at the state geography bee, as Mohan and three other local kids have done, takes much more intricate detail.
``Sometimes it's hard remembering the names of the countries, especially when they sound so much alike,'' said the 13-year-old eighth-grader at Tidewater Adventist Academy in Chesapeake.
``And you also have to know about different landforms, like mesas and canyons. They ask you about the different wars, the geographical areas given in treaty at the end of the war. There's a lot you have to know.''
Mohan is in Richmond today, one of 100 finalists in a statewide geography bee sponsored by National Geographic Society.
Norfolk Academy's Christopher O'Neill, Alex Kirk from Norfolk Collegiate and Joel Glynn of Salem Middle School in Virginia Beach will join her in the final round of competition for the National Geography Bee in May.
One state winner will pick up $100 today and a trip to Washington for the national event. There, 10- to 15-year-old geography whizzes from across the country will vie for a $25,000 college scholarship.
National Geographic created the competition in 1989 after a 1988-89 Gallup survey that showed American students lagged behind their counterparts in other countries in their geographical knowledge.
Not Mohan. Her parents decided early that Lathika would have first-hand knowledge of the planet. Six years ago, her parents took her out of school for two months and went on a trip around the world.
The Mohans visited London, Paris, Berlin, Istanbul, Bombay, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Sydney, Hawaii and California.
``It really helps in my schoolwork now,'' Mohan said. ``It helps me to understand certain countries and things because I've been there and seen the different foods, clothes and people.''
Her parents also allow her to pick their summer vacation spots, making sure Lathika reads and studies the history of their destination before they arrive.
``We believe that education is very important. And Lathika is such an observant child,'' said her mother, Annette Mohan.
``We know that she's gained a lot from traveling . . . We want her to see that there are different types of places, types of people.
``I believe an educated person must be a well-rounded person.''
Lathika has been trying for this Richmond trip for three years. In 1994, Mohan won the school's competition but didn't pass the state bee's preliminary written test. She finished second in the school's bee last January, took the state test, but again didn't qualify.
She won the school bee this January. The state exam was a few days later. Mohan found out that she qualified three weeks ago.
Since then, Mohan has absorbed the World Almanac and studied atlases and episodes of the television program, ``Where in the World is Carmen Sandiago?''
``I'm excited,'' Mohan said, ``but I'm not a person who likes to compete with anybody.
``I like this because it helps with my knowledge of the world. When I'm competing for the valedictorian spot, this will get me used to the competition.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]
STEVE EARLEY
The Virginian-Pilot
As an eighth-grader at Tidewater Adventist Academy in Chesapeake,
Lathika Mohan, 13, won the school geography bee.
Mohan has already been to many great cities, including London,
Bombay, Paris, and Berlin.
by CNB