By Chase Holmes, News Reporter
TRUSSVILLE – A Hewitt-Trussville Middle School student has placed fourth in a National Science Bee as the only representative of the South.
Bentley Buckelew, 11, went to Washington, D.C., as one of 120 science bee hopefuls from across the United States and returned as the only representative in the South to place in the finals. The top five students were awarded a trophy for their hard work.
The International Academic Competitions National Science Bee is a thorough and challenging competition that takes place over four days between students from across the nation. The competition took place between June 1 to June 4.
The first and second days, the students underwent four preliminary rounds. Their scores from the first two days were tallied and 36 out of 120 went to Quarterfinals. Only 16 students advanced to the Semifinals, and only six made it to the Final Round.
Bentley said it was a tough road but well worth it in the end.
“It was a difficult challenge and the questions got tough in the finals,” he said. “I had to study a lot to get to where I’m at. It just feels very good to have been able to represent the south and Alabama in the finals. I feel accomplished and proud to do so well in a field I’m so passionate about (science). I feel very thankful for everyone and everything that led me to this point and supported me.”