(WXYZ) — For eighth grader Anwesha Ahmed, spelling is just what she does.
“I just see the word in my head and then I'll spell it out,” said Anwesha of Davison Elementary-Middle School.
You could say Anwesha has a k-n-a-c-k for putting words together.
“I do like reading, and I feel like spelling comes naturally to me,” she said.
RELATED: Sharpen your spelling skills with the Scripps National Spelling Bee's Word Club app
Anwesha won her first grade spelling bee — and then, just recently set her sights on the Wayne County spelling bee.
“I wanted to get into the nationals, because I just wanted to do something like impressive,” she said.
She ended up winning the county bee and securing herself a spot at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. in late May.
WXYZ-TV anchor Carolyn Clifford surprised the queen spelling bee with the news on air.
“I don't know. I was really shocked and I was proud of myself, honestly,” she said.
Of course, we couldn’t let Anwesha go to nationals without doing an impromptu Channel 7 Spelling Bee. You know, just to warm her up. We gave the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s Word Club app a whirl.
But clearly Anwesha didn’t need any warming up — spelling "ingenuous" and "spandau" correctly, and well, I need to go back to school after my terrible attempt at spelling "fomentation" (I thought it was more complicated than it actually was, opting for an "au" instead of an "o").
All jokes aside — despite what may come on the national stage, Anwesha is already a winner in her family’s eyes.
"I just want to see her compete and do her best. And, you know, either way, no matter what, I'm going to be proud of her. But I'm just excited to see her on that stage and just competing," said Anwesha's brother, Anik Ahmed.
"But she's a future champion, right?"
Anik responded, "absolutely. Go for it. She's going to kill it. I know it."
The Scripps National Spelling Bee will buzz into the spotlight on May 30. Nine other spellers from Michigan will head to the national stage: Emily Demlow of Lakeview Middle School; Joscelyn Ryan of St. Mary Catholic School; Brady Bowers of North Rockford Middle School; Clara Mervak of Northglade Montessori School; Owen Smielewski of Ruth Fox Middle School; Gabe Grierson of O.J. DeJonge Middle School; Sidhanth Nandhan Vetrive of Brown Elementary School; Hazel Danziger of Leland Public School; and Aryan Khedkar of Baker Middle School.
Congratulations to all of the local spellers!
