C.E. Williams student Keerthana Samuel takes top spot in CCSD’s 2020 Spelling Bee
from Staff Reports
Forty spellers participated in the Charleston County School District (CCSD) 2020 Spelling Bee held January 16, 2020, at Burke High School. It took eight rounds for Keerthana Samuel of C.E. Williams Middle School to earn the top spot. Samuel struggled with the word “Sommelier” adding an “e” at the end but much to her relief spelled “Pruritus” with ease, giving her the title.
Samuel said she originally was unable to obtain the list to begin studying so she used the list from the previous year.
“I studied two pages a day and memorized each word,” said Samuel. “Today, I stayed home from school to continue memorizing my words. I did my best but I certainly didn’t expect to win first place.”
Thirty-six schools sent competitors. Only four scholars took the top spots.
Samuel along with 17 other top spellers will advance to the Post and Courier’s SpellBound! 2020 competition in March.
The winner of SpellBound! 2020 moves on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
Samuel said to prepare for the next round she will continue to study the words and learn more about root words and learn tips for memorizing words that originated from other languages.
“I am really looking forward to the next level,” Samuel said.
