Lakewood Ranch youth makes buzz about history

As a second grader in Ohio, Greenbrook’s Jackson Nealis was rather bored with books. 

When he asked if his classmates liked the ones they were reading, only one boy proved enthusiastic. He was reading about famous shipwrecks and began telling Jackson about the Titanic and other sunken ships.

Jackson said the excitement was contagious, and he has loved learning about significant moments in history ever since.

“I did check out that book,” said Jackson, now an eighth grader at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School.

Although Jackson spent years learning about the Titanic and other shipwrecks, his favorite historical topics now are wars and kings.

“History has always been my favorite subject,” Jackson said.

But Jackson’s love of history will take the spotlight this weekend. After placing first in  the U.S. history bee exam, fourth in the international geography bee exam and third in the Jeopardy-style National History Bee Quiz during the Central Florida History Bee and Bowl Championship March 23 in St. Petersburg, Jackson now will test his knowledge of history on the national level. He is competing in those categories during the National History Bee and Bowl Junior Varsity National Championship April 26-28 in Washington, D.C.

He’ll be up against seventh  through 10th grade students. Jackson could have competed in the middle school-only competition to be held in June in Chicago, but he preferred the trip to D.C. because of the city’s historic significance and landmarks. He’s excited about visiting the Smithsonian, Lincoln Memorial and other famous sites while there.

“It’s got to be D.C. That’s where everything is,” Jackson said.

Jackson is most familiar with kings and history — his favorite topics — but for the competition, he needs to be proficient in all types of history, from the Industrial Revolution to famous historical paintings and artistic styles. He’s been studying historical subjects and taking practice tests under the guidance of his teacher, Mary Louise Sternberg, and he’s even read “The Gospel of Wealth” by Andrew Carnegie because there were practice questions related to it.

Jackson’s mother, Melanie Nealis, said the family has always tried to incorporate learning into their adventures, including visiting historical sites while visiting Ireland in 2016.

Melanie Nealis said Jackson knows most of the answers when the family watches “Jeopardy.”

“I do get pretty frustrated when (contestants) mess up easy questions,” Jackson said.

Jackson’s dad, Peter Nealis, said Jackson is a voracious reader.

“Our backseats (of our cars) are like a library there’s so many books back there,” said Peter Nealis, who will be traveling to Washington, D.C., with Jackson for the competition.

Jackson said he knows he likely won’t be the top competitor at the national level, but he’s eager to test his skills and gain experience and represent his school, which historically has competed well in sports and subjects like Latin.

“This is my first foray into it,” Jackson said. “We finally are putting history on the map at St. Stephens.”