SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- An Encinitas student beat out thousands of kids across the country to be named a co-champion in a national history trivia contest. He also uses history to teach kids about COVID-19.
Quade Kelley, 11, produces different videos imagining what it would be like for historical figures, like Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin, in today’s world. In his videos, the student is telling others “about COVID and what we could do to have the cases go down."
In one of his videos, he received the surprise of a lifetime when he found out he was a finalist in the Inaugural “Who Was?” History Bee. Kelley beat out 25,000 kids across the U.S.
The student has read nearly 190 books about public and historical figures, over 250 biographies, and spent more than 300 hours studying.
“Because of COVID, they canceled New York. It's sort of disappointing, but at least I had an amazing opportunity to be a co-champion," Kelley said.
The winners of the contest split $10,000. Kelley donated his portion to a local charity.
Despite not being able to compete in the history bee Kelly was able to meet the other finalist via Zoom and his favorite author Jeff Kinney.
Kelly says he has a passion for history.
“It’s important to learn history because if we don’t learn about it, it will happen again, possibly,” says Kelley. “We can learn from the good things that will happen again.”
