Thursday evening, students from a variety of schools around Allen county will come together to put their spelling abilities to the test at The Allen County Spelling Bee. The Fairfield Elementary champion is ready for the contest.
Fourth-grader Christian Moy is the Spelling Bee champion at Fairfield Elementary in Fort Wayne. Before he could move on to the Allen County Spelling Bee, he had to win the school bee. And he didn’t know exactly what he was getting into.
“After I won, I was like ‘well, that’s it.’ Because, by that time, I did not know about (the) national spelling bee and something like that. I thought it was just some random spelling bee, unfortunately.”
He says some of the words he encounters seem like they could be from another planet, rather than plucked from the English dictionary.
“Out of this world, I feel like it’s almost literally.”
Christian says he’s excited to compete in the Allen County Bee, but he wonders if the amount of time going into it is worth it for him.
“Here’s the truth, yeah I am excited but I don’t know if it’s ever worth it. ‘Cause, like, I practice spelling a lot. But, practice makes perfect.”
Christian’s parents are from Burma, but he and his two younger sisters were born in the U.S. Christian was born in Detroit, Michigan, where his mother and younger sister, Selene, live currently.
He says he, his father and his sister travel to Detroit most weekends to visit.
“I get to see Selene, see how she’s doing.”
Christian says his youngest sister is an angel -- until she begins to cry throughout the night. While he’d hoped for a younger brother, he says having two sisters has been good.
As for the Bee, Christian says he feels a lot of stress leading up to the event and that he likely won’t be able to sleep before it. But, he’ll be happy for whatever the outcome might be.
“If I lose, I won’t even bother making a tantrum.”
Christian will compete against 48 other students Thursday evening at 6 P.M. at the Rhinehart Music Center at Purdue Fort Wayne.