UPDATED MAY 28 at 5:40 p.m.
Su Hlaing, a 7th grader at St. Peter’s School who lives in Gaithersburg, successfully moves on to the quarterfinals in Tuesday’s Scripps National Spelling Bee after correctly spelling thule.
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Su Hlaing, a seventh grader at St. Peter’s School in Olney, sailed through the preliminary round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, earning the right to compete in round three Tuesday afternoon.
She correctly spelled dghaisa, a small boat common in Malta. She also correctly defined the word penitentiary, a federal or state prison.
The Gaithersburg resident is well-rounded with strong interests in reading, languages, singing, listening to music, student government and the newspaper.
“I like listening to music,” in particular Indie pop and rock, she said. “It really depends on my mood.”
Hlaing, who came to the Bee with her mother and sister, is currently studying Spanish and Chinese when she isn’t reading classical novels by Louisa May Alcott and Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
As for spelling, “It just kind of happened,” she said. She competed in her school’s spelling bee and just kept winning her way through regional competition. “I just have to hear the word, and it just comes to me,” she said.
Hlaing said she studies spelling, root words and languages one to two hours a day and more on the weekends.
She would like someday to be a fashion designer and plans to take sewing lessons this summer.
She has some advice for those wishing to be good spellers. “You should definitely learn root words, how languages form, and also read.” She has learned new words just be reading books, she said.
The spelling bee is held at the Gaylord National Resort and culminates Thursday evening when the 2024 winner will be announced.
#Speller95 Su Hlaing from Maryland navigates dghaisa with precision! https://t.co/mMAhQcxt0V #spellingbee
— Scripps National Spelling Bee (@ScrippsBee) May 28, 2024
