Logan Rabe ’22 will compete in the 2017 National History Bee (Seventh Grade Division) in Atlanta, Ga. June 2-4. This academic competition puts students’ history knowledge to the ultimate test and covers topics from the 1300s through the 1900s (with a few present day questions mixed in). Below, Logan talks about the qualifying process, what he’s most excited about, and his biggest challenges.

How did you get involved with the National History Bee?
I always liked history – it’s my favorite subject. And I knew a lot about history so my parents told me to try out for the National History Bee. I took an online test – it was pretty easy – and I qualified for the Boston regionals.

Tell us about regionals.
There were two rounds: a buzzer round and a testing round. In the buzzer round, you were asked a question and had to be the first to buzz in with the correct answer. The testing round was a multiple choice test on an iPad. I did really well on that because it was less stressful than the buzzer round. Overall, I placed 9th in my grade!

What’s your favorite time in history?
1950s to now. I think it’s the most impactful and there’s just a lot of information out there [about this time period].  I also study a lot of political things, and I really like geography. So I do really well on those questions.

What topics are you going to spend extra time studying before the competition?
I would say my weakness is ancient time, like the Roman Empire. But I have been watching a lot of videos about that so that helps. Also, I don’t know a lot about medieval times.

What are you most excited for at the National History Bee?
I’m really excited to go to Atlanta! I’m also excited to meet all the kids who like history as much as I do.

Good luck, Logan! The entire Beaver community is cheering you on – we know you’ll do great.