麻豆影院

College of Arts and Sciences sponsors local spelling bee winner鈥檚 travel to national competition

Ben Lenger is surprisingly nonchalant about winning the 2017 Barnes & Noble Regional Spelling Bee on Feb. 25 in Broomfield, which netted him an all-expense-paid trip to the national finals in Washington, D.C., in May and other prizes.

But perhaps that鈥檚 no surprise. The seventh grader at Sunset Middle School in Longmont is an old hand at spelling bees, and has learned that anything can happen.

鈥淚n third grade, I made it to the third round at the Niwot (Elementary School) bee, and I said to myself, 鈥楬ey, I like this,鈥欌�� says the 12-year-old Niwot resident.

He鈥檚 studied hard for every competition since, with mixed results. He鈥檚 bombed out and won at the school level, lost in the first round of the regional competition, and this year, beat out the 2016 champion, Cameron Keith.

鈥淚t鈥檚 luck,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 prepare any harder this year than last year, when I was out in the first round of the regionals.鈥�

He means, quite literally, the luck of the draw. Sometimes you get a word that hangs you up, as last year鈥檚 champ did this time around. Other times, you don鈥檛.

It doesn鈥檛 hurt, of course, to be extremely well read, and to have a PhD in organic chemistry for a father and a former English teacher for a mother, which is, Ben muses, another kind of luck.

鈥淚 love etymology, and that鈥檚 something I鈥檝e worked on with the kids, especially with Greek and Latin roots,鈥� says his mother, Audrey Lenger. 鈥淣ot because of spelling bees, but with an eye toward general literacy and enjoyment of the English language.鈥�

Ben agrees that having such knowledge is helpful when parsing out words.

鈥淥bviously, knowing the roots helps a lot,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut I know most of the words just because I read a lot and I鈥檝e seen them.鈥�

In fact, reading his father鈥檚 college-level biology textbooks helped send him to the national competition鈥攖hat鈥檚 where he first encountered 鈥渓ysis,鈥� which he successfully spelled to claim this year鈥檚 trophy.

Some of what Ben reads isn鈥檛 surprising. He loves the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson novels, as well as 鈥淭he Lord of the Rings.鈥� He enjoys reading about history. But he also makes a habit of regularly poring over the DK Encyclopedia of Science, which he received for his sixth birthday, and scouring the internet for articles about 鈥渃ars, rockets, and various jet engines.鈥�

鈥淚 want to work in the aerospace industry and rocketry,鈥� he says.

Participating in a spelling bee in the nation鈥檚 capital is a great honor, of course, but he鈥檚 most excited about visiting the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. And he鈥檚 not just biding his time at home: He loves building and launching Estes model rockets, which have been thrilling enthusiasts young and old since 1958.

鈥淚鈥檝e got this one I haven鈥檛 built yet, but it looks totally awesome. It鈥檚 a multi-re-entry vehicle, so there are three stages that fall off,鈥� Ben says. 鈥淚鈥檒l have to launch it on a non-windy day, or the stages will be all over the place.鈥�

He also plays viola in his school orchestra and enjoys bicycling and skiing.

Students have participated in local and regional spelling bees to reach the since 1925. In 2017, an estimated 11 million children participated.

The CU 麻豆影院 College of Arts and Sciences has provided funding for the families of 麻豆影院 County winner to travel to the finals for three years. Ben will travel with his parents, Steve and Audrey, and younger brother Jon to this year鈥檚 competition, which starts May 28. The finals are scheduled for June 2.

鈥淲e are very grateful for the financial assistance from CU,鈥� Audrey Lenger says.

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