NATIONAL HARBOR, MD. – Following in the footsteps of other talented Midwestern spellers, students from the Kansas City area are in the nation’s capital this week to compete at the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
While most spellers say they are nervous to begin the onstage spelling rounds Wednesday in suburban Maryland, they also feel prepared, motivated and inspired by their families and previous winners.
First-time national competitor Lawrence Zhang, from Heartland Elementary School in Overland Park, said he draws inspiration from sisters Vanya and Kavya Shivashankar, who won the spelling bee in 2015 (Vanya) and 2009 (Kavya). They live just 20 minutes away from his home.
Lawrence, a talented multi-instrumentalist who loves jazz, said he is realistic about his chances of winning but is dedicated to returning if it doesn’t happen for him this year.
He admires the perseverance of past winners.
“It took them a lot of time to win. I was inspired,” said 10-year-old Lawrence. “I know I’m not going to win this year. A lot of people don’t know how hard it is. It took the Shivashankars, like, four or five years to win. This is only my first time, but I plan on coming back in sixth or seventh grade.”
Amrith Samuel of Olathe said he was also inspired by the well-known Shivashankar siblings.
“I lost to Vanya before,” said Amrith, 12. “So when I lost to her, that motivated me to keep studying, and finally this year I got through” to the nationals.
For 14-year-old Kansas City native Peyton Wiewel, the spelling bee is a perfect fit.
“I always love the adrenaline rush of being in a competition, and I’ve always had a love for words,” she said.
Peyton, who splits her time among figure skating, swimming, voice acting and modeling, is competing for the second time. Seasoned participants agreed that concentrating on word origins and roots rather than just committing words to memory is the key to spelling preparation.
“I tend to have a lot of trouble with Greek and Latin words,” said Peyton, who is in eighth grade at Lakeview Middle School in Kansas City. “I want to get more information about the words so I’m more familiar with them.”
After being eliminated in the preliminary written test last year, 13-year-old Sophia Hoffman said her sister Jordan inspired her to keep doing her best and to come back fighting this year. Jordan participated in the bee in 2010, 2011 and 2012, when she tied for eighth place.
One of Sophia’s favorite words is bonhomous, which means to have a friendly and sincere nature.
“I like it because it kind of just describes the way I like to be,” said Sophia, a student at Pleasant Lea Middle School in Lee’s Summit.
These young students all have broad interests and ambitions, but their busy schedules don’t distract them. From soccer and ballet to orchestra and magic, spellers said they learn important lessons about commitment and preparation that they put to work when they’re spelling.
“I learned different ways to practice and get myself in a routine for swimming and figure skating,” Peyton said. “And I tried to apply that to studying for the spelling bee.”
Amrith also finds time for competitive sports. He is tennis obsessed, as well as being a talented violinist and pianist. His parents encouraged him to use his love for tennis and the strategies he takes away from the game to help him tackle spelling, he said.
“My parents say I always need to be as dedicated in spelling as I am in tennis,” he said.
After placing second at the Cass County Spelling Bee two years in a row, Samuel Cheslik was determined to make it all the way to the nationals this year. Even though the defending county champion also returned, 14-year-old Samuel was resolute — and he prevailed at the competition in March.
Samuel’s favorite word is gesundheit, the German response to a sneeze. Samuel, who is learning German, is a book-lover and has been able to expand his vocabulary through his love of reading.
Whether their kid becomes the next national spelling bee champion Thursday or not, parents said they are already immensely proud.
“My wife and I are just most proud that he stuck with it and didn’t give up,” said Stephen Cheslik, Samuel’s father. “He worked really hard, and we are just so excited for him to have this special week.”
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