Three students from Richmond Secondary made it to the top 20 in a national geography competition.
Grade 12 Max Long and Grade 11 students Jimbo Cai and William Zhang were among the top 20 participants in the level three category of the annual Canadian Geographic Challenge.
The competition began in December 2022. It challenges Canadian students between the ages 16 and 19 on their geography knowledge through multimedia and written tests.
The top 20 students completed the written test on Feb. 13.
Long, Cai and Zhang told the Richmond News that they never expected to reach as far as the top 20.
“It feels amazing to have done so well in a competition like the Canadian Geographic Challenge and have all of our efforts pay off like this,” said Long.
“I would definitely say it was a mix of both shock and excitement because I didn’t really expect to get this far in the competition.”
This was the first time all three students took part in the challenge, adding that they “couldn’t have done it” without the support from former participant and Richmond Secondary grad Eric Li and Ms. Kandola.
“Prior to this (competition), I’ve never really partook in competitions on such a massive scale before,” said Zhang, adding that it was intimidating but exciting.
“I would like to study and dive deeper into this subject and its real-world applications.”
Cai added that the competition gave him the experience and confidence to “practice geographic knowledge” outside of the classroom.
“This enables us to be more experienced in next year’s competition and also helps us dive deeper into thinking more geographically while becoming better at this field of study,” he said.
While Cai and Zhang have plans to take part in next year’s geographic challenge, Long is looking to find ways to be more involved with geography studies after graduation.
Long said learning about Canadian geography is one of many starting points to learn about “pertinent issues affecting our country.”
“It’s a really valuable field of study and I learn how I can improve the community and give back to this country (while) providing important information with things like urban planning, natural resource management or disaster preparedness.”
The Richmond Secondary students are hoping to promote geography studies and the challenge to other local students.
