Get Rewarded For Your GPS, Not Your GPA

HAMDEN — The nation’s largest network of leisure travel agencies is again rewarding students for using their GPS, not necessarily their GPA.

AAA, which has more than a thousand accredited travel agencies nationwide, is sponsoring its annual Travel High School Challenge, a travel-oriented contest that awards $100,000 in scholarships and prizes to high school students who can read a map, identify the location of cities, and figure the shortest distance between two locations.

The Challenge, a nationwide online competition that kicks off January 9 to 17, is a three-stage contest. Open to students in grades 9 to 12 in public, private and home-school settings, the competition focuses on the importance of geographic knowledge in today’s global society. By sponsoring the challenge, AAA is trying to spark student interest in travel and the world around them and have them consider careers in the travel industry.

Following is a short description of how the competition works.

In the first phase, Connecticut high school students, along with other students nationwide, take a 40-question online quiz between January 8 and 16 on the website aaa.com/travelchallenge.

Before taking the test, however, participants must register online. In fact, those who register now can take a sample quiz and find the contest rules at that website.

In the second phase, the top five scorers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia then compete in the state finals. In Connecticut, the top five scorers will take a proctored, written exam between March 6 and 8 at one of Connecticut Motor Club’s branch offices. The state champ wins an all-expense-paid trip for two to Universal Orlando to compete in the national finals.

In the third phase, each state champion progresses to the national finals to be held May 19 to 22 at Universal Studios in Orlando where competitors have the opportunity to compete in a high-stakes, single-elimination bee for a grand prize: a $20,000 scholarship. Second and third place prizes will be awarded at $10,000 and $5,000, respectively.

 This year, there’s a new element in the national competition: two types of available scholarships. The first is unrestricted awards for any student with great travel trivia and geography skills; the second is travel-specific scholarships for those interested in careers in the travel and tourism industry. Every student who enrolls in this year’s program is eligible for both.

In addition, the top five scorers in each state, who express an interest in travel-related careers, will have an opportunity to submit an essay for both a state and national essay competition to win $56,000 in travel-specific scholarships. Students can enroll or learn more at aaa.com/travelchallenge.

Sponsors of this year’s AAA Travel High School Challenge include Bank of America, Continental Airlines, Hard Rock Live, Marriott, Pleasant Holidays, and Universal Orlando.

AAA’s 1,000-plus accredited travel agency locations generate more than $3.6 billion in revenues. They provide domestic and international airline tickets, cruises, escorted tours, independent tour packages, hotels, car rentals and other travel products.

The Connecticut Motor Club, an AAA affiliate, provides comprehensive travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services to more than 500,000 members in Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven Counties. Its website is aaact.com.