Gonzalez will compete in Harrisburg

Madison Gonzalez was not always the stellar speller he is now. "Toward the end of elementary school, I slowly got better (at spelling)," said Gonzalez. "It wasn't until last year that I realized how good I had gotten."

Last year - the spring semester of 2022 - was a milestone for Gonzalez because it was the first time he competed in a spelling bee at a higher level than his own school, specifically the WITF Central PA Spelling Bee, which was held virtually due to COVID-19 concerns. The journey of Gonzalez, then a Gerald G. Huesken Middle School seventh-grader, to the regional level began when English teacher Vicki Henderson held a spelling bee in her class and Gonzalez was one of two final students. "I had to spell one more word, and it was 'meteor,'" recalled Gonzalez, who then competed against 14 other students in a spelling bee for all seventh- graders. "I got first place, and the first and second (place) students did the virtual (competition)," said Gonzalez. At the regional level, more than 30 students from 11 counties took part in the contest. Gonzalez came in 10th, and he remembers hearing the telltale beep when he misspelled his word.

Gonzalez's road to this year's competition actually began in 2022, when his eighth-grade English class spelling bee was held a few days after Thanksgiving. "There were 19 of us," said Gonzalez. "It was more inclusive because the top four went to the grade spelling bee." The following Friday, Dec. 2, about 35 students - representing the top students from each participating grade - began the next round. Gonzalez placed second in the competition, but that did not clinch his elimination because a written spelling bee score based on a WITF test was factored in. "I was the only one who advanced in the WITF written spelling bee, so I am the sole survivor," said Gonzalez, who will compete against more than 30 others in the regional competition at the WITF Public Media Center in Harrisburg on Saturday, March 18.

The winner of the regional bee will compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee to be held later in the spring in Washington, D.C. Since this is the last year Gonzalez is eligible to compete in the program, he knows many students and teachers at his school are counting on him to do well. "Two days before my spelling bee ... we will have a party in my sixth-period English class," said Gonzalez, who noted that the event was planned to wish him luck at the competition.

Gonzalez was concerned about the amount of time he was using to prepare for the regional round, since he had been preparing for PSSA testing at school. "There's a lot of pressure," he said.

His mother, Meg Adams, noted that they try to study in the evenings, with Adams giving Gozalez words to spell. "There are crazy words you don't hear on a regular basis," she said.

"The French words were my big problem last year," said Gonzalez, who speaks Spanish as well as English.

"(Madison) is a fantastic speller, and he loves language," Adams added.

Gonzalez noted that he favors words involving chemistry, science, and geography, but his favorite word is one he learned last year. "The word is 'aibohphobia,' and it is the fear of palindromes and it is a palindrome," he exclaimed.