Twelve-year-old Shifa Amankwah-Gabbey made Ashanti Regional proud last Saturday after she emerged winner of the 2018 National Spelling Bee competition.
The first-time contestant told Myjoyonline.com that she was only trying her luck but as she kept progressing in the competition, it boosted her confidence of winning.
“It was an awesome experience when I was called among the last seven spellers,” the Nagie’s Angels Educational Centre student recounted.
The competition which started with close to 200 spellers across the 10 regions of the country went through various stages ending with three finalists.
Some words like chanteuse, androgynous, biloculine, calpatio, Gloucester, pyroclastic and allium were the make or break for some of the contestants.
There was Raj Thakwani and Akshaya Janikiraman, both from DPS International located at Tema, who gave Shifa a stiff competition.
Master Thakwani who competed last year misplaced an ‘i’ for an ‘e’ when spelling ‘Elutriation’ handing Miss Shifa the opportunity to spell her word right to win the competition.
“When I was asked to spell the last word, I weighed my options after I was told it was not a Japanese word although it sounded so. I asked for the origin and trusted my instincts to get it right.
“I was so nervous I did not know when I spelt the championship W-A-M-A-R-A. When the crowd jumped I busted into tears because I had won,” she told Myjoyonline.com.
According to her, the whole journey to winning the competition has been absorbing for her thanking the other children for pushing her to the limits.
Narrating some of the struggles during her preparation, Shifa said learning German words was a huge challenge to her.
“Those words were a problem for me initially because there are not many vowels in them. But I persevered by learning the rules of the competition,” she said.
Shifa advised those yet to make it to the final stages to “keep pushing and never give up.”
She promised to do her best to make Ghana and Ashanti Region proud when she travels to the U.S for the 91 Scripps Spelling Bee international championship.
Her proud aunt who travelled with her to the Accra Digital Center told Myjoyonline.com she was proud the hard work and advise has paid off.
Hajara Swalid urged all parent to “encourage their wards when they express interest in anything positive towards their development.”
“This helps to unearth hidden talents in children and they give off their best in any field of endeavour,” she observed.
For her prizes, Shifa gets GH¢5,000 in scholarship, an economy ticket to Washington for international competition as well as $500 spending money.
Other sponsors including Indomie, South Africa Airways and MultiChoice Ghana presented some products to the winner and runners-up.
The 11th edition of the National Spelling Bee competition was organised by the Young Educators Foundation, a Non-governmental Organisation.
Source:Myjoyonline