Spelling Champ’s Summer Plan: Less Studying, More Reading After D.C. Dictionary Duel

(KNSI) — St. John’s Prep’s Emmaline Bushman is back in Minnesota and planning to take the summer easy after a whirlwind trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC.

“It was really exciting because I don’t think I’ve ever done anything quite at that scale,” she explained. “ Especially feeling the support of all my friends in my school and my family in Minnesota, doing that, it felt really cool.”

The experience also left her surprised at the diversity among the spellers, “and the huge range of people who are all connected by the same thing – the love of spelling and words and language. I met a lot of people that otherwise I would have never met from all over the country and outside of the country, but we all had something to talk about with each other, something we all shared.”

Backstage, there wasn’t much talking because it was live, but Bushman feels words and language weren’t necessary. “you really feel the camaraderie with everyone there because you’re not competing directly with each other. Something they say a lot there is you’re competing against the dictionary, but especially as it gets later in the competition, it does get pretty tense, but you know that everyone there is cheering you on just as much.”

Meanwhile, during the competition, she says there’s a lot of waiting, but Bushman found a way to pass the time, including taking deep breaths. “You’re sitting there for a really long time, so it’s really hard to stay kind of focused, but what I did a lot was spelling along with the other people who were taking their turns, just to give my brain something to do and to prepare myself for my turn.”

There were 243 spellers at the bee, and nine from Minnesota, several of whom Bushman plans to stay in contact with.

Bushman came in 41st, and the word she missed was oxter, which is of Scottish origin and means a person’s armpit, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. When the bell rang, and she was told it was incorrect, she was disappointed, but “I was just really proud of myself and amazed that I made it that far.” Will she ever forget how to spell it? Her reply? “Nope.”

While in the nation’s capital, along with studying, Bushman did have time to do some sightseeing. “On our last day there we got to take a trolley tour around the city and see a lot of the landmarks like the Lincoln Memorial and the Martin Luther King Jr. Monument. I really liked being able to see the city and the monuments.”

As for the rest of her summer, Bushman plans to try to relax and read. “With all the studying and the end of the school year, I didn’t get to do much reading, so I’ve been reading a lot.” While she likes a lot of books, her favorite is Frankenstein.

This was Bushman’s last year of eligibility, but she has some advice for the spellers coming up behind her. “I think just something you can really see in the competition is that studying really does pay off, and that a love of learning and words can carry you really far.”

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