Hi! My name is Saketh Jonnalagadda and I am the founder of Worldwise, a non-profit foundation committed to increasing geographic awareness in the USA. My love of geography sparked as early as the 1st grade when I would look at the different shapes of US states and try to find wacky city names. This interest continued with me into middle school and in 8th grade, I placed 2nd in the nation in the 2016 National Geographic Bee. From there, I went on to mentor other geographic bee competitors and speak at various events about my journey through the competition. Now, I want to help solve a pressing issue: geographic literacy. Most middle and high school curriculum don’t have a geography class that focuses on the world around us. This leads to a lack of general knowledge about the world and much less care for international current events. I want to make students care more about the world by helping them become excited about learning geography, about people and cultures, and that is what I hope to do with this foundation.