The volunteer efforts of more than 80 high school boys and their mothers from the Austin Viper Chapter of the Young Men’s Service League have made a difference this summer at Down Home Ranch.
The 410-acre Down Home Ranch is a working farm in Elgin, east of Austin, that has some 44 residents.
Narayana Janga (dad), Navya (sister) and Sushma (mom) congratulate Nihar after he became the national geography bee champion on May 22. Navya missed graduation events to be with Nihar in Washington, D.C. Also photoed is Athreya Mallanna (blue t-shirt), who was runner up, and his mom. Photo by Rebecca Hale/National Geographic
By ALEJANDRA BORUNDA, National Geographic
The two finalists stood quietly at their podiums at the front of a packed auditorium at the 2019 National Geographic Bee on May 22.
“My heart was pounding and felt like it would come out of my body during the sudden death rounds in the finals,” said Nihar Janga from Steiner Ranch.