Kody Sherlund has many interests. The Lanier Middle School eighth-grader plays baseball in the Fairfax Juniors League, skateboards, plays trumpet and has a Life rank in Boy Scouts; his other interests include drawing, painting, Guitar Hero, his iPod, NCAA and professional sports. At school, he is in the National Junior Honor Society, German Club and Symphonic Band.
One of his other interests – geography – has made him a geography bee veteran. Kody has won his school’s geography bee every year since 2004, and competed as a semifinalist in this year’s Virginia Geographic Bee, sponsored by Plum Creek, April 4 at Shenandoah University.
Kody has lived in the Fairfax area with father Shane Sherlund, mom Janette Sherlund, sister Kiana, dog Sydney and cat Woody since 2003. His favorite school subject is civics, and he also likes to spend time outside at baseball fields, the skate park and in after-school sports.
A Harry Potter fan who counts all the Harry Potter books and movies among his favorites, Kody hopes to become an Eagle Scout and go to a good college after high school. Eventually, he hopes to become a lawyer.
How did you find out about the Geography Bee? What made you want to participate?
My third grade teacher in Wisconsin had us take a qualifying test and I did really well, and made the bee as a third-grader in 2003. I ended up winning the school geography bee. Then I moved to Fairfax and continued to win the school bee every year since (2004-08). I have been to the Virginia State Geographic Bee four times.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
I would go to Africa to see all the wild animals, and to see the different types of regions, like the deserts, rainforests and the savannas.
Where is the most interesting place you have traveled to so far?
I have traveled to Alaska, and it was really isolated, and had lots of wildlife. When I was in Alaska I was gold mining with my family.