Ryan Ostry
Bugle Reporter
@RyanOstry_BR18
rostry@buglenewspapers.com
Seth Buikema is not your typical teenage boy.
Why you ask?
For starters, winning the varsity division of the International Geography Bee that was held in Germany is not on most high school boy’s lists of goals.
“I’ve been very interested in Geography for a very long time, probably since I was about three or four years old,” the Westmont resident said.
An incoming senior at Timothy Christian High School, Seth has taken interest in the particular field of Geography, has been involved since he was little according to his mother, Angela.
“When he was young, I actually put this map on his wall of the United States which was an illustrated map that had some components of each state and commerce laws,” Angela said. “We just kept adding little resources and knowledge for Seth so it would be available to him, and then he just ate it up from there.”
Leading up to Seth’s international competition, he took third place out of 150 participants at the national level in Washington D.C.,while finishing with a 90 percent on the qualifying test.
“I really appreciate Seth’s all around respect and perspective of what he’s interested in, and all that he knows about the entirety of Geography,” Angela said.
The competition that took place in Berlin, Germany from July 11-17 consisted of tests with a written 400-question exam, a global crisis simulator and a showdown head-to-head knowledge competition.
“Each division was different, but in mine there was about 25 to 30 people,” Seth said. “In total, I believe there was over 120 [participants].”
Watching her child perform at such a high level for a long time has rewards, but it is also tough, Angela said.
“Watching Seth up on stage brings a lot of emotions because there’s a part of me where I just want him to do his best, but then there’s another side where it really starts to draw me and bring me in to say okay you got this, you’re going to win,” Angela said. “You’re so nervous for them but there’s nothing you can do besides sit back and watch them perform.”
Seth said that in most situations he remains calm and doesn’t get too caught up in emotions, but he was dazzled by the moment in Berlin.
“They had a big medal ceremony at the end which they saved for last, and I thought that was pretty cool and impressive,” Seth said. “I was surprised because I usually don’t get that excited about things, but it was really neat.”
Seth is not sure if he will take on any more competitions in the near future, but he plans on being involved with Geography when the time comes for him to attend college by majoring in Geography or possibly International Relations.