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American Morning
10-Year-Old Calvin McCarter Wins 2002 National Geographic Bee
Aired May 23, 2002 - 09:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: You want to hear the actual winning question yesterday in the finals of 2002 National Geographic Bee. Lock Nor (ph), a marshy depression at the east end of the Tarim Basin (ph), is a nuclear test site for which country? Give up? Alex Trebek, the answer is:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX TREBEK: Lock Nor at the east end of the Tarim Basin is in China, and that means that Calvin McCarter is our 2002 National Geographic bee champion.
Congratulations, young man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: The winner, 10-year-old Calvin McCarter was the youngest competitor in the field. He is home-schooled by his mother in Michigan. And young Calvin joins us this morning.
Congratulations.
CALVIN MCCARTER: Way to go.
ZAHN: You looked a little surprised, like the reality hadn't set in that you had won.
MCCARTER: Yes.
ZAHN: That was after a tough dead heat.
MCCARTER: Yes, it was.
ZAHN: When you were trying to figure who was going to be second and third, and you won that after an instant replay, and now this. How did now know the answer to that question?
MCCARTER: I read it on a book, and I also saw it on a map.
ZAHN: So it wasn't a good guess; it was an educated guess.
MCCARTER: It was also nuclear testing help. China is right now, of course, testing nuclear, so...
ZAHN: So they gave you a very subtle clue there.
MCCARTER: Yes.
ZAHN: Now you were competing kids that were three and four years older than you. Was that intimidating?
MCCARTER: A little, because many of them had even gone to Washington D.C. many times in the competition.
ZAHN: And you had never been there before?
MCCARTER: Yes.
ZAHN: How did you get prepared? I know your mother home schooled you. Is this something you worked a lot on, geography?
MCCARTER: Well, earlier I would spend like an hour a week on the national Geographic Web site, but then later on, I studied much more.
ZAHN: And what did that mean? A lot of what, memorizing stuff, and then your mother asking you questions and answering it?
MCCARTER: Yes, yes, and reading books, looking at Atlases.
ZAHN: You like geography, don't you?
MCCARTER: Yes.
ZAHN: Now, a lot of kids in America think geography is really boring. How can you make it interesting to them, because you like it a lot.
MCCARTER: Yes. Well, it's not just memorizing facts, it's also culture, economic and political -- just different things about countries.
ZAHN: And you need how to weave that all together. How is your mom so good at teaching, because you learn everything at home, right?
MCCARTER: Yes. She's just good at asking questions.
ZAHN: And do you go through regular school day if you would as if a in public school, where you have certain designated hours where she's teaching you certain subjects.
MCCARTER: It's usually not designated. But we usually use certain subjects first, like spelling comes last, because I don't like it.
ZAHN: I bet you could still spell, though.
MCCARTER: Yes, I...
ZAHN: I won't test you today. Listen, you've already won this big national award. That's all we need to know. Are you prepared for when you go home that kids will probably be digging deep into books, trying to find the toughest geography question they could possibly ask you.
MCCARTER: Probably.
ZAHN: You're probably ready, aren't you?
MCCARTER: I hope.
ZAHN: Well, good to see you. Congratulations. Did you get a big trophy?
MCCARTER: Twenty-five thousand dollars.
ZAHN: I know that. And that's going toward your college education, right?
MCCARTER: Yes. And another $500, and a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society.
ZAHN: That's fantastic. What do you want to be when you grow up?
MCCARTER: I don't know. I wanted to be a clown, but now I've changed. I just want to use the gifts God has given me, like politics, law and maybe geography.
ZAHN: You know what, if you run for public office, I will vote for you.
MCCARTER: You would?
ZAHN: I will help run your campaign. Just give me some warning.
Youngest kid to ever win this award. You'll probably be running for public office when you're 20. Good luck to you. Travel safely back home.
MCCARTER: Thank you.
ZAHN: Grand Rapids, Michigan. Best to your family as well.
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