PROVIDENCE – Seoyon Kim is Rhode Island’s top speller.
The Wheeler School 8th grader out-spelled the competition during last Friday’s Rhode Island State Spelling Bee, sponsored by The Valley Breeze.
Kim went for eight rounds in the bee, which was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her victory secured her a place in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Kim said she’s nervous for the national bee, “. but I’m excited to represent Rhode Island. I’ll do my best.”
The competition’s youngest competitor, 4th-grader Laura Costello of Winsor Elementary School in Smithfield, was the runner-up.
Other participants in this year’s local competition were Lincoln Middle School 6th-grader Ethan Abreu; Max Ramirez, an 8th-grader at Birchwood Middle School in North Providence; Maiya Robert, a 7th-grader at Deering Middle School in West Warwick; and Daniel Piampiano, a 7th-grader at Scituate Middle School.