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NMI rep, 8, places 2nd at spelling regionals
Jessie Campbell representing the Agape Christian School spells a word during the 47th annual Scripps Regional Spelling Bee eary March 2019. (Contributed Photo)
An 8-year-old student of Agape Christian School managed to place second at the 47th Annual Scripps Regional Spelling Bee in Guam.
Jessie Campbell, daughter of ACS teacher Don Campbell, placed second in the regional spelling competition and only lost to a much older Rina Olsen from the St. John’s School in Guam, who is 12 years old.
As the second placer, Campbell could proceed to represent the region at the 92nd Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.—if Olsen is unable to go herself.
“I find it very scary when she is up on stage, especially when it is her word,” said her dad, Don Campbell, in an interview. “She looks calm[er] than I [am], so I put a smile on so my nervousness doesn’t transfer to her.”
He noted that his daughter only had a month to prepare for the competition in Guam.
Some of the words that Jessie Campbell was asked to spell during the Guam competition were “caboose,” “kudzu,” “histoplasmosis,” “ovoid,” “lurid,” and “incarnadine,” to name a few.
This was Jessie Campbell’s first year at the regionals, while Olsen had been there six times “so she has a lot more experience,” said Don Campbell.
Jessie Campbell competed with 62 other participants at the regional spelling bee, representing Pohnpei, the CNMI, and Guam, all ranging from 4th to 8th grade.
“We have been [participating in the Scripps Spelling Bee] for many years,” said Pastor Kok H. Pang, administrator of ACS. “…For Jessie to do so well [in a regional spelling bee], we are so overjoyed.”
“Knowing many words is so important so that they can write better, read better,” Pang added.
Don Campbell noted that plans for future spelling bees have yet to be finalized.
“We will see. She still has to compete here,” he said, adding that Jessie Campbell would most likely be participating in upcoming spelling bees.
