Matthew Serviss

Skyview lad has compass trained on success

By LORETTA SWORD
The Pueblo West View

He can point out just about any spot on a map, but it was his brother's coin collection that helped 14-year-old Matthew Serviss move a step closer to a $25,000 scholarship by winning a recent geography contest at Skyview Middle School.

The deciding question involved identifying a unit of currency used both in Argentina and in Mexico.

Serviss, an eighth-grader, correctly answered "peso" before any of his competitors and walked away the winner of the local contest.

Zane Covey was the runner-up in the first-round competition of the 15th annual National Geographic Bee.

Preparation started back in November and the competition was held earlier this month, thanks to contributions from numerous area business owners and individuals.

Most participants were enrolled in an elective geography class taught by Greg Bradfield, who also oversaw the "GeoBee."

Bradfield said all the participants worked hard and competition was tough, but "Matthew deserves some recognition for this accomplishment."

The next step for Serviss is a written test that will pit him against local winners from around the state. Up to 100 competitors will be chosen from among the top finishers of the written exam for an oral competition in Denver on April 4.

The National Geographic Society will pay expenses for all state winners and their adult escorts to attend the national contest late the next month in Washington, D.C.

The winner of that contest will walk away with a $25,000 scholarship good for tuition at any college in the country.

Serviss said during a recent interview that he may have had an edge over fellow classmates in the geography contest because of traveling he's done with his parents, who are humanitarian aid workers with the international Save the Family Foundation.

The Pueblo native moved to Pueblo West last year after returning from a two-year assignment in Romania, where his parents ran an orphanage and taught prisoners to read.

"While we lived there, we traveled around a lot - all through Europe - and I've been to Africa," said the soft-spoken Serviss.

At the moment, it's a love of history that figures into the youngster's choice of potential careers, though.

"I like learning about what people were like and how they lived in the olden days," he said.

It doesn't matter right now where he's headed because, with his 4.0 grade-point-average and love for academics, he's not likely to get lost along the way.

He and geography teacher Bradfield expressed thanks to the following sponsors who made the local geography bee possible through cash donations toward prizes split between Serviss and Covey, as well as good and services: San Isabel Electric Association, Dr. Alison House, Little Ceasar's Pizza and the Pueblo West McDonald's.

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