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12-YEAR-OLD BECOMES FIRST EVER GIRL TO WIN STATE'S NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BEE
By Keith Hagarty
 | | --Photo Courtesy Of Michelle McEnroe Twelve year old Rachel McEnroe recently became the first female contestant to ever win the state championship of the National Geographic Bee since its inception in 1988. |
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Can you name the capital city of Qatar in under 10 seconds?
For one 12-year-old Jackson resident, the answer was easy enough- it's Doha.
While most are left scratching their heads at such a question, Rachel McEnroe, of Bennetts Mills Road, recently used her vast knowledge of geography to become the first female winner in the history of the New Jersey championship of the National Geographic Bee.
"I study almost every day, and have been doing that for more than a year," McEnroe said following her victory. McEnroe participated in last year's bee as well, but did not come away with a victory. After studying for a month prior to last year's competition, the motivation to hit the atlases for the entire year leading up to this year's event ran high.
An eighth grader at the Oak Hills Academy in Lincroft, McEnroe joined 99 other students from across the state that scored in the top 100 overall to compete at the statewide competition in Vernon last month.
"I wasn't nervous either time," said the poised eighth grader about her participation in the two competitions.
Clutching a toy stuffed bumble bee for good luck, each question stirred up more and more butterflies in the stomach of Rachel's mother, Michelle.
"I squeezed the thing to death each time it was her turn," she said laughing. "I almost squeezed its neck off."
Rachel's ability to stay cool and poised under pressure is a trait that Michelle knows probably wasn't inherited from her.
"I was the one who was majorly stressed," said Michelle. "She's always calm, and I'm the one who's always panicked."
According to the National Geographic's official website, each year, thousands of schools in the U.S. participate in the National Geographic Bee, using materials prepared by the National Geographic Society. The contest is designed to encourage teachers to include geography in their classrooms, spark student interest in the subject and increase public awareness about geography.
The state competition began with a preliminary round where the kids were split into five groups of 20 kids, with eight questions posed to each contestant.
"The people with the highest scores- like eight out of eight, which is what I got- go to the finals," she said, noting that she was only one of five contestants to get all eight questions correct in the initial round.
When the final question in the finals came down to McEnroe and a male contestant, regarding the capital of Qatar, she knew immediately after he revealed his answer that she was in great shape.
"I was really excited," said McEnroe. "We celebrated by going out to a restaurant … oh, and I studied some more."
Congratulating McEnroe on her victory was Retired Ambassador Patrick N. Theros, who presented her with a geography book and a DVD about Qatar. Theros spent a half-hour with McEnroe discussing the country, its goals for the future, as well as the language of Arabic, which McEnroe plans on studying over the coming months at Stuart Country Day School in Princeton. In addition, the gifted McEnroe, who's already taken the SATs twice, will also be taking Mandarin Chinese this summer as part of Mercer County College's new youth program, and will begin high school at The Hun School of Princeton this fall.
Michelle said the family had no idea Rachel was the first female winner in the near 20-year history of the competition until a news reporter made them aware of the fact
shortly following her victory.
"We're so proud of her," said Michelle. "She's amazing."
McEnroe took a casual approach when asked if she hoped her recent success would help encourage more girls in New Jersey to
participate in the competition.
"It's cool representing all girls," she said. "It might be nice. There were 91 boys out of
the 100 (contestants)."
Next up for McEnroe will be competing as one of 55 final contestants in the National Geographic Bee from May 22-23, in Washington, D.C
"It just keeps getting better and better," her mother said. "It's so exciting."
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