Middletown Christian Student Wins National Spelling Bee

Long days of writing out hundreds and hundreds of spelling words doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun for most students, but for 13-year-old Amanda White it was something she actually wanted to do.

White, an eighth grader at Middletown Christian School, spent hours and hours writing down words, their pronunciations, and even wrote out the entire dictionary all to prepare for one thing: the Association of Christian Schools International(ACSI) National Spelling Bee. Wright filled out four entire notebooks with different words so she could study them in preparation for the competition.

Well, last weekend her long hours and continuous hard work finally paid off when Amanda achieved first place in the contest. "I was so glad I worked so hard," Amanda said. While this may seem simple to some, it is the complete opposite. Amanda had advanced from the regional spelling bee which consisted of 19,000 students from fifth grade to eighth grade from schools all over the country.

The National Competition took place in Washington D.C. where Amanda beat out 45 students to take the top honors. Amanda was awarded at Middletown Christian with a school wide ceremony in honor of her accomplishments. "I was really glad I was able to come out with a victory," Amanda said after the ceremony.

According to White, when it was just her and another student, they both held hands and were each given a microphone. Amanda needed to spell two words correctly after her competitor misspelled her word. Her first word was "luciferous", a word Amanda had never heard before. But, thanks to her hard work and talents, she spelled it correctly. Amanda's final word was "adiposity". According to Amanda, "My voice cracked, and I knew I had won." "I was in awe of her, I just wanted to hug her and tell her it was all worth it." Elaine White, Amanda's mother said.

Amanda worked hard and it all paid off. This is a big honor not only for Amanda and her family, but for her school as well. For winning, Amanda received a savings bond in the amount of $200, a new laptop, and a printer.