Kalamazoo Teen To Represent Michigan In National Spelling Bee

I remember being a young kid and watching the Scripps National Spelling Bee on ESPN thinking that I wasn't anywhere near smart enough to be able to spell all those words. I mean, If I'm being honest, I don't even think I can spell scissors right consistently without autocorrect, let alone some of the challenging words that these young scholars can recall. We have seen some amazing battles and performances in the previous years of the Spelling Bee, but none of them will be more intriguing than the one we will see this year.

There are school, city, regional, and state spelling bees that take place throughout the school year all over the country. They are looking to find the best speller(s) within that area or state to go and represent at the National Spelling Bee which is hosted by Scripps in the last week of May every year.  Kalamazoo has had some local success in the past but this year the talent from Kalamazoo has risen above the rest. Kalamazoo will have one of its middle schoolers competing in this year's National Competition.

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Kalamazoo Public Schools has 4 middle schools and 3 high schools within the district and this is the first time that I can recall someone earning the honor of representing not only their school, school district, and city, but possibly their state in the National Spelling Bee. It makes me a proud alum of not only Kalamazoo Public Schools but also the middle school that this young man currently attends.

Carter Tuthill, an 8th grader at Milwood Magnet School, who spends a lot of time reading will be heading to Maryland at the end of May. Carter won the Kalamazoo County Regional Spelling Bee to earn himself a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee to try and win the big crown.

As Carter has already started to study for the national competition, he says that his love for reading is what has aided in his spelling skills. He does admit that some of the words on the national list that his mom has started reading to him and the idea of the trip are intimidating. He said it was all crazy after winning the regional event and learning that he would be going to Maryland for the nationals.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee will be during the week of May 26th during what Scripps calls Bee Week, with the preliminary rounds starting on that Tuesday.