Pinellas County 7th grader heads to international geography bee in Austria

MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. - Brayden Lyons loves reading and learning.

"His academics are his sports," Melissa Lyons, Brayden’s mom, said.

"Some people just have a natural understanding for math or something," Brayden said. "I just have a natural passion for history and geography."

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His passion is taking him to the international geography bee in Austria in July.

"I can’t wait to go against kids from all around the world. They’re my people there," Brayden said.

Brayden was the only student from Pinellas County Schools to compete in the Tampa Bay Regional Geography Bee. He came in first for the seventh grade division.

"My dad mentioned it, and I was like, ‘I don't really know. I don't know how good the kids were going to be. I don't know if I knew enough.’ I guess I knew enough," he said.

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"I stumbled upon it [the competition] and said, ‘hey, there's a regional that's going to be happening at Largo High School,’" Derrick Lyons, Brayden’s dad, said. "’There's an exam and do you want to take the exam,’ just try to get a feel for what he felt for it, and he took the exam. You have 20 minutes to answer 50 questions, and he scored 94% in 10 minutes. So, he qualified and then the rest is history."

Brayden’s top score at regionals qualified him for nationals in Orlando, and the international geography bee in Vienna, Austria organized by the International Academics Competitions. Brayden, a student at Madeira Beach Fundamental School, also loves to travel.

"I remember back from third grade I just like looking at maps and I like seeing what cities were where," Brayden said. "I like learning about countries around the world because, I mean, I hear stuff on the news and I hear about wars and business deals and everything and I want to find out why those are being made and what and where they are."

His dad used to teach geography and history and his mom was an English teacher. 

"I would say around five years old there was an interest in the ‘Titanic,’ and so we had gone to the library to take out books, and then we started going back to the library," Melissa said. "He had already read all the books. So, then it started to expand into World War II, and then it just blossomed."

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"We knew he understood geography, but when we saw him in action, it was like, ‘whoa.’ I think our reactions in the room when we were watching we were just like looking at each other. We didn't know that he was that capable of understanding and working under pressure because that's an intense situation, so, we’re very proud," Melissa said.

Brayden said he’ll prep for his next competitions by doing what he already does for fun: Watching videos about geography and reading about it.

"I watched endless hours of YouTube, so that pays off, and I’m an avid reader. I love reading," he said.

Brayden said he wants to be a diplomat when he grows up. 

The national competition is in May, and the international geography bee is in July.

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