At the IGC winning a medal showcases knowledge and skill in a geographical area. Winning a medal is an award that most, if not all attendees at IGC are hoping to achieve. One medal is already an accomplishment, but what about 5? Well that’s what Aadi Gadekar, a rising junior from New Jersey, managed to achieve this July 4th. He scored a gold in geoguessr, the battery exam, knockout, and the historical geography bee. Additionally he won a bronze in the human geography exam.
Winning all those events wasn’t easy however. To be able to do so well in the events, Aadi had to (put stuff about how he studied here). Even then there were several close calls, such as when he was neck and neck with the second place competitor Additionally, Aadi found the historical geography bee difficult as it as in an area he wasn’t as familiar in.
But not all events were so stressful. Surprisingly Aadis favorite event wasn’t any of the ones he won a medal in but the family game show beta test. “It was pretty fun because I went up against another competitor’s family and David Madden was moderating “ Aadi stated. As to why he enjoyed it so much, Aadi explained “ it was just a lot of fun, it was very informal, it was just a great time to have and a nice break for all the competitions I had so i enjoyed it.”
Winning all these events in one day may seem like a herculean task, but according to Aadi its all about perseverance. In Aadis words, “Don’t be set back by a couple failures, yesterday I placed near last in the vermont geography exam but today i got 4 gold medals, so one setback doesn’t really define you just keep on trying and eventually you’ll get it.”
In the near future Aadi is looking forward to a full day trip to Montreal as part of the International Geography Championships. Further down the road he looks forward to going to college. Lets wish Aadi best of luck in the future as he continues his time at IGC.