Jason Spar, 9, is mapping his future

Student achiever

The student: Jason Spar, 9

School: Clemens Crossing Elementary School

Achievement: An avid geography buff, Jason won his school's geography bee -- part of a national competition sponsored by the National Geographic Society.

An early start: By the time Jason was 4, he was able to understand road maps, said his mother, Linda Spar. He now studies the airplane route when taking family trips. In first grade, he was given the opportunity to choose his own reward for no longer sucking his thumb. He selected a talking globe.

Winning from faith and hard work: "I feel like I worked on [geography] plenty of my life, like from preschool on up. ... I believed in myself."

What the future holds: Jason would like to be a cartographer when he grows up or "maybe be someone who detects hurricanes or earthquakes and see where they are on the map."