More than a dozen students participated in the 30th annual Allen County Spelling Bee, an event that organizers said truly prepares kids for the future.
“Being a good speller is going to help them academically from now until college and throughout their whole life,” said Shannon Bowers, Allen County Educational Service Center director of gifted students. “Also I think it builds self-confidence and public speaking skills.”
There were a total of 17 elementary and middle school students who competed in the spelling bee at the Ohio State University Lima campus. All 17 participants were 2019 spelling bee winners from their respective schools in Allen County.
Throughout the competition students were asked to spell words like gremlin, artistic, siren, tireless, abnormal, borrow, knelt, and stylish.
Spelling words like those was no challenge for one 6th grade middle school student, who after 13 rounds took home the win.
She said her interest in spelling and reading is what sparked her interest in competing.
“I like reading and spelling and I’m good at spelling, so I thought it would be a good thing to try,” said Delilah Pavel, a Delphos Middle School student and winner of the Allen County Spelling Bee.
The OSU dean said the college is proud to host the event to allow students to shine and get acclimated to a college campus.
“These are very strong, academic-focused students. A lot of them are avid readers. They enjoy spelling competitions, obviously,” said Bryan Albright, OSU assistant dean. “But it was just a great opportunity for them to come on the campus, get a feel of what campus is like and also compete in a competitive spelling bee event.”
Now that the competition is over finalists and several other participants will have the opportunity to compete in The Lima News Regional Bee in March.
