A shining example of perseverance

Ron Watson Middle School student rises to top in county spelling bee

Twenty-nine of the area’s most “astute” spellers brandished their orthographic skills inside the Schoening Conference Center at Arizona Western College Thursday morning as the 75th annual Yuma County Spelling Bee commenced with COVID-conscious modifications.

With words like “dauntlessly,” “lionize,” “rollicking,” and “hoity-toity,” the battle of letters and sounds waged its way to a dozen or so rounds, but it was “luminance” that sealed the deal for winner Taylor Arun, who shined bright in her first-ever county spelling bee.

A seventh-grader at Ron Watson Middle School, Arun has been competing in school-wide spelling bees since third grade in hopes of one day making it to the conference center stage.

“For multiple years I’ve lost and lost in school spelling bees and I’ve always wanted to go to the next level – and finally I’m at the next level,” Arun said. “It was nerve-racking coming into here – I was shaking. I’m just happy I made it this far.”

Arun’s win came after also successfully spelling “orchestra,” which was misspelled by runner-up Lilly Lam, a fourth-grader at Alice Byrne Elementary School who flanked Arun in the last several rounds.

In the weeks leading up to Thursday’s contest, Arun spent about five hours a day pouring over the pronunciation, definition and language of origin of words she thought she might encounter at the mic. While she spent a great deal of time studying on her own, the conditioning was also a family affair.

“I write the words over and over, or I have my family mark the words I get wrong and they go over it with me again and again until I get it right,”

Arun said. “It’s a lot of practice. ‘Hoity-toity’ stumped me (in Thursday’s spelling bee); some of the words have weird pronunciations and I mix them up sometimes. So I try to study a lot. It’s not about memorizing words – I memorize the patterns within the languages and sounds.”

From Arun’s vantage point, good things take time and a lot of hard work; in fact, they’re essential ingredients for achieving your long-held dreams.

“If you have a dream, go for it,” she said. “Work hard to get to it. It’s not easy; it’s going to take work, of course. But if you work, you can get it.”

“We’re very proud of her,” said Arun’s mother, Autumn Arun. “She studied really hard. She was really nervous, but it was worth it – she did a great job.”

Arun will advance to the Arizona Spelling Bee, slated for March 20, where she and 26 other local-level champions will vie for the opportunity to represent the state in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

Arun said she’ll employ the same study tactics she adopted for the county spelling bee, as they seem to be relatively foolproof. “But I’ll probably study way harder for this one,” she added.”

As she has one year of eligibility remaining, the annual Yuma County Spelling Bee may not have seen the last of Arun; she plans to return with the same momentum in 2022.

“I’m definitely hoping to come back next year; that is the goal for me,” she said.

The live streamed 2021 Yuma County Spelling Bee can be viewed online at www.yumasupt.org/spelling-bee.html.

RON WATSON MIDDLE SCHOOL 7TH GRADER TAYLOR ARUN looks directly at pronouncer Nancy Blitz as she spells a word on the way to winning Thursday’s 75th annual Yuma County Spelling Bee inside the Schoening Conference Center at Arizona Western College.

buy these photos at yumaSun.com PHOTOS by raNdy HOeFT/YUMA SUN LUCAS TEMPONI, A SIXTH GRADER at Desert View Middle School (Carpe Diem) uses some sand sanitizer in between rounds.

FOLLOWING COVID-19 PANDEMIC SAFETY GUIDELINES, masked competitors in Thursday’s 75th annual Yuma County Spelling Bee are seated six feet apart in the first four rows on the floor, instead of being seated traditionally side-by-side on stage. Also, each competitor was allowed to be accompanied by one parent, who are seated behind the competitors, and socially distanced and masked.

MARY A. OTONDO ELEMENTARY School fifth-grader Austin Vogel spells a word on his arm during the competition.

Buy this photo at YumaSun.com PHOTO bY randY HOeFT/YUMA SUN COMPETITORS IN THURSDAY’S 75TH ANNUAL YUMA COUNTY SPELLING BEE inside the Schoening Conference Center at Arizona Western College, including (from left) Austin Vogel, from Mary A. Otondo Elementary School, Mairyn Gamez, from San Luis Middle School, Taylor Arun, from Ron Watson Middle School and Isaac Gutierrez, from Ed Pastor Elementary School, rearrange their chairs as the field of 29 is gradually reduced.