Two fifth graders from Santa Clarita were chosen as finalists in the National Memory Master competition set to take place during a cruise to the Bahamas next week.
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Emma Fowler and Christopher Rodriguez, both age 11, are two of 16 finalists who will compete for the title of National Memory Champion and a $10,000 grand prize.
Starting May 2, finalists will participate in three rounds of academic memory testing during a five-day cruise on board a Carnival cruise ship, covering disciplines like math, science, English, grammar, history, Latin and geography.
The 16 finalists have already been through a rigorous series of local and regional competitions.
Fowler earned her spot in the final competition with a presentation on European history from the perspective of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Rodriguez also made it to the finals with a European history presentation, which gave a first-person account of the Middle Ages from the perspective of Charlemagne.
The competition is hosted by Classical Conversations, a classical education resource used by homeschoolers nationwide and around the world. Both Fowler and Rodriguez are part of the Santa Clarita Valley Classical Conversations (SCVCC) community.
Already a published illustrator, Fowler is in her third year at SCVCC and has been a Memory Master all three years.
“Emma loves Jesus very much and often thinks in light of how Jesus would have her speak or act,” said her mother, Jenny Fowler.
Rodriguez is also currently in his third year at SCVCC, and enjoys particle physics, quantum mechanics and reading. A few of his favorite authors include Charles Dickens, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
“Christopher is super committed to (National Memory Master) and loves the challenge,” said Hosanna Rodriguez, his mother. “Obviously he is great at memorizing and is an enthusiastic learner. He is a taskmaster and has successfully learned to set goals by breaking things down in doable daily pieces.”
All 16 finalists in this year’s National Memory Master competition received two free tickets to the upcoming cruise, along with $800 in traveling funds.
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I’m SO proud of Christopher!! And no doubt that he, & his fellow finalists will be having an experience of a life time, in a couple of days… Very exciting!! All the best C.J.R. <3 😀