Congratulations!

Nothing is better than hearing that one of my students has won a bee, especially one that's really important to them. I got to hear that twice this weekend, and I wanted to highlight these amazing spellers because they've both been working so hard and are both deserving of their wins!

On Saturday morning, I was so happy to hear that Nilla Rajan of Chillicothe, Ohio won her regional bee for the second time. She also won the regional bee in 2016, and she'll be competing at nationals in May. Her winning word? "Mozambique." Nilla has been incredible to work with over the past two years. She's such a hard worker and has grown so much. Many spellers are especially good at something specific, but what makes Nilla special is that she's truly excellent at all facets of spelling, from root words to language patterns to memorization. I always look forward to our Skype calls because she always has a positive attitude and is ready to go.

Later on Saturday, I got even more good news. Another student that I coach, Charity Jordan, an eighth grader from La Conner, WA, won her regional bee for the third consecutive time! This is such a hard feat to accomplish. Spellers rarely win their regionals three times, much less three times in a row. She spelled "entomologist" and "de facto" to win the bee. Charity and I have been friends even since before I started coaching her, and she is such a marvelous and thoughtful person. Like Nilla, she has been growing so, so much in spelling, and she's going to do great things at the bee (not to mention in life).

I'm so proud of both of these spellers and can't wait to see them onstage in DC!

Nilla Rajan after winning her regional bee on March 24.

Charity Jordan spelling "de facto" on March 24 (photo courtesy of the Skagit Valley Herald)