State Citizen Bee Buzzing With Top County Students

About 40 of Orange County’s brightest high school students went head to head Saturday in a grueling academic competition designed to test their knowledge of American civics and history.

The students, participating in California’s first Citizen Bee competition, tested their academic acumen in such subjects as government, history, geography, economics and current events. Each had to answer a series of questions.

Taking first-place honors from Region H, which covers the Anaheim area, was Scott Talkovic, 17, a senior at Loara High School. First in the Region I competition was Margaret Kuo, 17, a senior at San Clemente High School. Both Talkovic and Kuo won $500 each and the honor of representing their regions in statewide competition in April.

$2,500 Scholarship

The student representing the greater Southern California area will also receive a $2,500 scholarship. Organizers said that there are 11 sites throughout the Southland designated for regional competition.

The winner of the statewide competition will represent California in the national competition this June, to be held in Washington. Organizers say the National Citizen Bee winner will take home a $7,000 scholarship check.

“I was really kind of surprised. I didn’t think that I would do that well; the competition was pretty tough,” Talkovic said. “I was really happy to win. It was funny--for some reason, I had forgotten about the money, so it came as a real shock when they handed me the check.”

Talkovic, a National Merit Semifinalist with a 4.0 grade-point average, hopes to use the cash to help finance his college education. Talkovic, who also plays varsity water polo and is on the swim team at Loara High, has been accepted at three University of California campuses and is awaiting admissions decisions from Stanford, Harvard and Yale universities. He plans to major in anthropology.

Kuo, who also has a 4.0 grade-point average, found the competition slightly easier than she thought it would be on the regional level, but she said she expects the going to get tough during the upcoming statewide contest.

“When I told my parents that I had won, they didn’t believe me at first. Then I showed them the check,” Kuo said. “I read all the (Citizen Bee) books that my government teacher gave the class. I found it (Region I competition) fairly easy, but I am sure the statewide competition will be much harder.”

The San Clemente High senior said that she wants to get a degree in American history, followed by a master’s degree in international relations. Law school for the 17-year-old, who studies ballet and tap dancing, is a possibility, she said. Kuo said she has applied for admission to both Harvard University and UC Berkeley and is awaiting word from the institutions.

Finishing behind behind Talkovic in the Region H competition were Clive Liu, 17, a Loara High senior, and Arash Alizadeh, 17, a senior at Bolsa Grande High School in Garden Grove. Liu and Alizadeh took home prize money checks of $300 and $200 respectively.

In the Region I competition, Dennis Ulrich, a junior at Mission Viejo High School, took second place and $300 in prize money. John Chihorek, a senior at the high school, took third-place honors and $200 in prize money.

The California Citizen Bee joins about 30 states across the nation that host the academic competitions founded in 1985 by the Close Up Foundation. The Los Angeles Times and Columbia Savings & Loan were major sponsors of the California competition, organizers said.