WES UDERWOOD SAYS HIS SPELLING TITLE IS ONE HE WILL CHERISH FOREVER
NASSAU, Bahamas — Wes Underwood is looking forward to representing The Bahamas at the 2023 Scripps Spelling Bee, but his excitement is tempered with the knowledge that the competition will be tough, and he has reached out to previous four-time national champion Roy Seligman, the only Bahamian to earn a semi-finals berth, for tips, The Nassau Guardian reported on Monday, March 27, in an article written by Shavaughn Moss.
“I have actually already reached out to him [Roy] and plan to get some tips,” said Wes, 13, who took two days off after his win.
“You could never study too much,” said the Samuel Guy Pinder All Age School eighth-grade student.
“I’ve downloaded my dictionary app and will begin studying that.”
While he is already looking ahead to Scripps in May in Washington, D.C., he still looks back to his recent win, which he said means a lot.
“[The national win] is very special to me because of the many hours of hard work I put in. This is something I will never forget, and a memory I will cherish forever.”
Wes won with the word “syntrophism”.
The win means even more to Wes, who has entered spelling competitions since first grade, but in his final year of eligibility advanced past the district spelling competition to claim the national title.
He was also pleased to take the win for his school.
“It means so much to my school because my school has never ever had a student win the district spelling bee to move on to the nationals. And for me being there for the first time for my school and island, winning felt amazing.
“I still can’t believe I actually won,” said the son of Natalia and Yancy Underwood.
Wes said he was nervous going in, but knew that he had studied hard.
“I knew that the competition would be tough, especially against the private schools, and coming from such a small island and school, and it being my first time there.”
Upon his return to Spanish Wells, Wes said he was met by his peers who he said screamed and cheered for him and offered congratulations. He said his teachers also expressed how proud of him they were.
Navidia Mills, Samuel Guy Pinder All Age School principal, said they have plans underway for a celebration in Wes’ honor.
“It just goes to show that great things can happen in the government school,” she said of his win. “This is a small school – hard work, perseverance and determination paid off for Wes.”
In only her second year at the school, Mills said she learned that Wes made attempts at spelling bees from first grade and was proud to see that he finally broke through. See complete article in The Nassau Guardian at https://thenassauguardian.com/national-title-conquered-looking-ahead-to-scripps/
