Saleem Dweik had never been to Baltimore, but he was sure he knew the waterway surrounding it was the Chesapeake Bay.

“I remembered my teacher last year had taught me that,” Saleem said. “I was pretty sure it was the answer.”

The 11-year-old’s knowledge of Mid-Atlantic coastal geography propelled him to victory at Fairfield Intermediate School’s Geography Bee on Jan. 10. Saleem, a 6th grader at Fairfield Intermediate, outlasted eight other fifth and sixth grade students in the test of knowledge of mountains, rivers and world cultures. C.J. Schulze was the runner-up.

“I’ve always loved geography and finding out about different people and places in the world,” said Saleem, who hopes to be a marine biologist one day. Saleem said his passion for marine biology has fueled his inquiries into geography.

“I studied some books and looked up a lot of things online,” Saleem said. “Because I like marine biology, I like to look up places I could study and see what kind of animals live in different places.”

Kristin Sims, a social studies teacher at Fairfield Intermediate, was one of the Geography Bee’s organizers.

“The geography bee helps expose students to a larger world and gives them a chance to learn about different cultures and regions,” she said.

The Geography Bee is sponsored by National Geographic. After students won contests in their respective classes, they competed in the schoolwide championship. From there, Saleem must take a written test and if he scores high enough will compete in a state competition. The winner of that competition moves to a national competition in Washington, D.C. and could win a $25,000 scholarship.

Students answer a variety questions about different cultures, languages, and geographic features like mountains and rivers, Sims said.

“I think it really gets the students excited about geography, “ Sims said. “Many of the participants have done a lot of extra studying to prepare.”

Saleem and his family are avid travelers, having been to many parts of the United States as well as Jordan and France, Saleem said.

“I really liked Jordan because the wildlife and scenery were so different,” Saleem said.

Saleem said his favorite subjects are social studies, science and orchestra.

“Saleem is a wonderful student and you can tell he really loves travel and geography,” said his social studies teacher, Jeanie Riley. “He’s also very polite and just a good student.”