V-a-m-p-l-a-t-e.
With those eight letters in that precise order, Jordi De Jong, a seventh-grader at Villa Maria Academy in Paoli, captured the crown at the 2018 Chester County Spelling Bee.
During the event, 48 students from 48 schools spelled their way through 418 increasingly difficult words. As the last student standing, De Jong has earned a trip for two to Washington, D.C., to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in June.
Srijan Velamuri from Lionville Middle School finished in second place, while third-place winners were Anna Clement from Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, Tanvi Joshi from Fred S. Engle Middle School, and Pavan Ulaganathan from East Ward Elementary School.
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Each student earned their position in the Chester County Bee by winning their individual school’s spelling bee, meaning each speller who took the stage was already a champion. Students prepared by studying Scripps-provided word lists and practicing at home.
As this is De Jong’s third time spelling at the Chester County Bee, she has had a lot of practice. She’ll be eligible to return one more time next year to spell as an eighth-grader.
The considerable talent in the room was evident as students spelled their way through the provided word lists and moved on to additional words, many of which they had never seen or heard.
“This feels amazing!” De Jong said after a grueling 22 rounds that lasted five hours. “I didn’t think that I would get first; it’s incredible that I made it this far.”
She attributes some of her success to reading.
“I think I excelled when we went off of the list of practice words because I read a lot,” she said. “It expands your vocabulary more than anything else.”
