GEOG Honors 100+ High School Students at Annual Awards Banquet

Record turnout marks fifth annual celebration of high school achievement in geographical sciences.

The Department of Geographical Sciences honored more than 100 high school students from across Maryland, District of Columbia and Virginia on April 20 for its annual High School Awards Banquet, an outreach event designed to recognize academic achievement and encourage interest in geospatial science.

Held in the Adele H. Stamp Student Union, the event brought together students, their families, teachers, and the university community. The program was launched in 2022 by Professor George Hurtt of the Department of Geographical Sciences to extend the department’s outreach beyond campus.

Now in its fifth year, the banquet drew a record attendance of more than 250 attendees in total.

“We are seeking to recognize and engage the next generation of students to bring geospatial perspective and technology to help identify and solve humanity’s most pressing issues,” said Hurtt, who also co-organized the event with faculty specialist Janna Chapman.

Keynote speaker Damon L. Austin, director of library and media services at DeMatha Catholic High School, urged students to navigate three unavoidable realities: calamity, chaos, and kindness. Fear of a turbulent world, he said, should drive informed action rather than paralysis; frustration with complex problems should deepen resolve rather than discourage; and kindness should serve as students' compass and, in his words, "the ultimate scientific tool."

Clockwise from top left: Former participants in the department's High School Internship Program present on their research; Keynote speaker Damon L. Austin addresses the room; more than 250 guests seated in the ballroom; and UMD students share remarks about geographical sciences.

Two Students, Two Entry Points

Professor George Hurtt, left and high school student Oluwafikayo Owoseni.

This year's honorees came from all kinds of backgrounds, but two students' stories illustrate just how many roads can lead to geographical sciences.

Among the students recognized were Oluwafikayo Owoseni of CMIT South High School and Paul Dickey of Northwood High School, who arrived at geographical sciences through very different paths: Oluwafikayo’s sparked by recent exposure to applied opportunities in the department, and Paul’s shaped by a long-standing fascination with maps and systems.

For Oluwafikayo, the introduction came last year at a career fair at his school, where he learned about the department’s paid internship for high school students. He later attended the department’s daylong High School Open House on GIS Day last November.

Growing up playing Roblox, Oluwafikayo became fascinated by how everyday players could build their own games. He is currently leaning toward software engineering but is beginning to see geographical sciences as a field where his coding interests could take on a larger purpose — one that connects technology to real-world problems like environmental modeling and spatial analysis.

Oluwafikayo, the firstborn in his family of Nigerian immigrants, has been consistently high-achieving, according to his father. His AP Computer Science teacher, Helen Gilbert, who nominated him for this year’s award, agreed: “He’s driven and advocates for himself.”

Besides receiving the department’s High School Award, Oluwafikayo also achieved the goal that first drew him to the program: He was selected for the department’s High School Internship Program this summer. “I am so proud of him,” his father said.

For Paul, interest in geography began long before the banquet. 

High school student Paul Dickey

As a child, he developed a habit of organizing and categorizing objects, a tendency that later extended to maps. Around middle school, he began printing blank maps and labeling them by hand, including an early exercise in which he numbered countries on a map of Africa before writing their names separately.

“I’ve had this strange knack for categorizing stuff,” Paul said.

He is especially interested in the overlap between geography and history, viewing maps as tools for understanding how human systems change over time. He also enjoys storytelling and scenario-based thinking, ranging from historical analysis to fiction writing.

His parents, both with graduate training in the sciences, said his interests developed independently from their own academic backgrounds in ecology and entomology.

“He was kind of born ready,” his mother said.

Paul is still considering his academic direction but expects it may involve teaching or research in history, geography or a related field.

“There’s no concrete path,” he said. “I’m just going to be making it as I go.”

A Growing Field That Meets Students Where They Are

As the high school programs in the department continue to expand, organizers said they hope to reach more students who may not yet see geographical sciences as a potential academic or career path.

“We want students to know that geographical sciences prepares you to make a difference,” said Associate Chair and Professor Sergii Skakun, who also spoke at the event. “You'll tackle problems that matter to every person on the planet, and you'll join a community of scientists, explorers and problem-solvers who refuse to accept that Earth's challenges are unsolvable.”

The Annual High School Recognition Banquet is the flagship program of the department's K-12 engagement efforts. Students, educators and families interested in learning more or exploring future opportunities are encouraged to visit the High School Hub.

2026 Winners

Academy of Health Sciences at Prince George's Community College
Jeff Minsona Leba

Centennial High School
Ira Ahirrao, Evan Liu, Advaith Thambisetty

Chesapeake Math and IT Academy
Grace Adenola, Esther Aluko, Gavin Bullock, Franklyn K. Galley, Luis Guevara, Rodney Lewis, Jeremy Martinez, Ronan McKell, Igbinosa A. Obamogie, Oluwafikayo Owoseni, Valerie Pena-Jordan, Rony Quijada, Mariela Rosales-Hernandez, Chiezita C. Uzoukwu, Adityaraj Vaghela, Bailey Winn, Chukwudumebi A.Yesufu

College Park Academy
Anna Fedorova, Michael Mendoza, Indira Olson

Crossland High School
Omarie Barnes, Madelin Benitez Gonzalez, Nakia Hendricks, Terlaina Johnson, Aaron McGregor

DeMatha Catholic High School
Alvis Adair, Malick Myrville, Christopher Sekyere, Anthony Tong, Jesse Wright

Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Sandy Yanes, Theodore Yang

Frederick Douglass High School
Pamela Battaka, Vanessa Billings, Ariana Jones, Brielle Wallace

Germanna Community College
Tiffany Peyton

Glenelg High School
Naren Nair

High Point High School
Josther Alvarado, Bryan Bonilla, Naomi Carcamo, Yanci Gongora-Lopez, Yenelin Lemus, Melannie Cristales Mejia, Diana Zavala

Holton-Arms
Sofie Dardzinski, Zara Ezebuiro, Catherine Hall

International High School at Langley Park
Héctor Escalante Morales, Iqrar Hamkar, Milvia Cac Pop, Argelia Mejía Martínez, Madelin Rosales Marroquín, Jorge Salguero Godoy, Katherine Martínez Sigüenza

International High School at Largo
Angel Galeas, Dharmikkumar Patel

James M. Bennett High School
Peter Jin

Key School
Wiliam Allison, Shelby Spruill

Largo High School
James Ford, Grace Nisbeth

McLean High School
Halle Melby, Walker Tolar

Montgomery Blair High School
Frank Lin, Fareez Mahmud, Skyler Xue

Northwest High School
Serian Robinson, Aaron Walker

Northwood High School
Paul Dickey

Oxon Hill High School
Melanie Hanciles

PGCPS Online Campus
Daisy Ramirez, Amaris Worae

Poolesville High School
Krish Pruthi, Tristan Reyes, Akshaj Basheerbad, Rishab Rakshi

Quince Orchard High School
Isabella Cremin

Richard Montgomery High School
Walter Sha

Rochambeau, The French International School
Sophia Sekeris, Sophie van Houtte

Rock Ridge High School
Anika Dosapati

St. Andrew's Episcopal School
Nuri Park

Sidwell Friends High School
Jackman Grossman

South Lakes High School
Ryan Kovacs

Springbrook High School
Marharyta Bochkova, Erika González, David Nyamsi, Marie-Ellen Lante-Lare, Madai Ortiz, Loic Cabrel Nono Tabou, Jose Pineda Menjivar

Thomas S. Wootton High School
Chloe Ayissi-Etoh, Kiko Kibua, Mason Liu, Lily Semnani, Isabel Tang

Walter Johnson High School
Alana Fluegel

Wheaton High School
Vivi Phan

Wilde Lake High School
Tiffany Berry

Winston Churchill High School
Beckett Bonness

Published on Thu, 05/21/2026 - 16:29