Rolla Student On The Way To Washington DC For National Spelling Bee

A Rolla student is about to be one of a few lucky individuals participating in the national spelling bee contest in Washington D.C. this year.

According to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, one of those competitors is 11-year-old Emmalyn Franks, an attendee of the Cedar Ridge Elementary school of Rolla.

She recently competed in the first and second rounds of the spelling bee, coming out on top for the region.

The quarterfinals started on Tuesday with semifinals running into today.

Thursday is when they expect to crown the national champion, who will then take home the Scripps cup and $50,000 in cash.

Last year’s winner was a 13-year-old from Allen, Texas, who won the championship in Round 21, by correctly spelling eclaircissement, a word that means the “clearing up of something obscure.”