Pleasant Hills student knows way around globe, takes second in state geographic bee

Pleasant Hills Middle School eighth-grader Lance Catlos might not travel the world, but he certainly knows his way around the globe.

Lance placed second among middle school students in the Pennsylvania Geographic Bee in Harrisburg last month. More than 100 middle school students tested their geography knowledge for a chance to compete in the national bee. While he didn't qualify for the national competition, Lance was thrilled to finish better than last year.

“Some of the questions are pretty tough,” Lance said. “They give you no options. You have to put a mental picture in your mind.”

Some questions show a map and provide multiple points where a city could be located. Other questions did not give a reference point.

One question that stumped Lance was figuring out what Southeast Asian country that borders the Bay of Bengal recently had a fossil discovery.

To prepare for the challenging questions, Lance practiced with the daily questions posted on the National Geographic Bee website by the National Geographic Society. In his spare time, Lance studied his atlas and watched the nightly news.

“He's a fantastic kid,” Pleasant Hills Middle School Principal Dan Como said. “He deserves all the credit for the amount of time and effort he had to put in. What makes it special is he enjoys it.”

Lance's interest in geography goes back to his great-grandfather, who was involved with the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. His great-grandfather used his knowledge of Europe to hide from the Germans when he was separated from his group.

Lance's grandfather traveled to places such as Colombia, Cuba and Panama.

“I inherited the skills from them,” said Lance, who also credits his teachers for teaching the lessons that prepare students for the geographic bee.

The journey begins at the school level. At Pleasant Hills, gifted resource teacher Andrew Capretto organizes the school's geographic bee. Pleasant Hills has a classroom bee in each homeroom. The top 60 in the school compete against each other to determine the school winner.

“I provide the opportunity to get involved in the Geographic Bee,” Capretto said. “Lance's great success is really a story of his own dedication and love of geography.”

Carpretto said in addition to countries and capitals, Lance studies physical features like mountains, rivers and oceans, as well as cultural details such as languages, religions and crops.

The top student from each participating school qualifies for the state competition.

This is Lance's final year to compete in the National Geographic Bee. His advice to others is simple: “Study hard and be the best you can be.”

Lance also is a history buff and enjoys when his friends ask for his help. When he grows up, Lance said he would like to be a high school history teacher and maybe “run for president.”

He certainly wouldn't get lost on the campaign trail.

Jim Spezialetti is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-388-5805 or jspezialetti@tribweb.com.