A grade 8 student from Windsor is on his way to Washington, D.C. this week to compete at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Isaac Brogan, a student at Maranatha Christian Academy, won the WFCU Credit Union Scripps Spelling Bee in Windsor in March and will help represent Canada at the competition in the U.S. Brogan will be joined by Arshan Shahriar of Toronto and Iris Sharmaguo of Halifax.
They'll compete against 247 spellers from around the world.
For both Brogan and Shahriar, it's the third time they've advanced to the national stage, where they reached the semi-finals.
"We are incredibly proud of Isaac and Arshan. These two young spellers have worked tirelessly to get to this stage, and they continue to inspire our entire community," said Eddie Francis, the CEO of WFCU Credit Union. "For eight years, WFCU Credit Union has been proud to partner with Scripps and host local spelling bees in Ontario, and watch our competitors earn their place on the national stage."
Rounds one and two start at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, while the quarterfinals begin at 8 am. on Wednesday. Both rounds will be streamed live on spellingbee.com.
Brogan went 38 rounds in the local competition, which featured 34 students from elementary schools in Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent, and Sarnia-Lambton.
During the six-day trip to Washington, Brogan and other competitors will participate in educational tours and experiences. The week concludes with a trip to the Smithsonian Museum.
Brogan also won a one-year subscription to the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online dictionary and a $200 educational scholarship.
