Ajay Miller stings OECS in Spelling Bee

Ajay Miller was confident that he would have been successful, after all he was used to spelling words.{{more}}

Despite his confidence, the nine-year-old student was overjoyed when he was announced the winner of the 2009 Haliborange-Rotaract Regional Spelling Bee Finals.

The Finals of the competition took place in Antigua on November 14. Second place went to Grenada’s Britny Thomas and Dominica’s Kareen George settled for third place. Miller received $5,000, while Thomas and George received $3,000 and $2,000, respectively. They also received trophies for their success in the competition.

Miller won the local leg of the Haliborange-Rotaract competition which took place at the Methodist Church Hall on October 31.

Searchlight spoke with Miller on Tuesday to discuss his experience in Antigua. Seated among his proud classmates at the Kingstown Preparatory School, Miller said, while nodding his head confidently, that the competition was not hard “because (he) was already accustomed to it.”

Miller recalled a few of the 20 words he spelt during the competition such as “doubt”, “moose”, “anaesthesia”, “leukaemia” and “synagogue”. He explained that he “studied and read a lot” to prepare for the competition, and his family, friends and teachers Pearlina Carrington and Maria Speedwell helped him as well.

He also had fun while in Antigua, making friends with a few of his fellow competitors and playing table tennis. He also said he “ate a lot”.

“I think it is excellent,” Miller’s classmate Leon Wickham Jr. said about Miller’s success, adding that he has made his school very proud. His grade five classmates expressed just how proud they were of Miller’s victory by showering him with congratulations and making a colourful banner, which was spread across the wall of the classroom.

The lad who said that he is fascinated with motorcycles also enjoys reading and playing with his cousins. He expressed thanks to all those who helped him win the competition. He already has big plans for his cash prize.

“(I am going to) put it in a fixed deposit account,” he said smiling. (OS)