OLS student Rohr takes the stage at National Spelling Bee

Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic (OLS) School fifth-grader Violetta Rohr was recently a national competitor in the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee. She was one of only five Alabama students, and the only one from the greater Birmingham area, who qualified to attend the competition in the Washington D.C. area.

“We were so excited for Violetta to represent our school on the national level,” said OLS School Principal Mary Jane Dorn. “She is the first OLS student that we are aware of that has ever attended the National Spelling Bee.”

Having won the OLS spelling bee the past two years, Violetta placed third in the Homewood district both years. But with the new Scripps RSVBee program, she was able to apply for a chance to receive an invitation to the National Finals. The new invitational program provides the opportunity for more students to compete at the highest level through a special selection review.

As contestant No. 9 on the national stage, Violetta advanced through both rounds of the oral competition but fell short to qualify as one of the 50 finalists. The final 50 were determined by taking the top scores from a written test given to all 562 national participants on the first day of the competition.

When asked how it felt to be in the national spotlight, she says, “I didn’t really think about being in a national competition; it kind of just felt like a normal spelling bee. I felt more pressure competing in front of all my school peers than I felt at Nationals!”

Violetta credits her hard work and a belief in herself for her outstanding accomplishment at such a young age. Thirty-eight percent of the national bee’s competitors are eighth-graders.

This years’ experience has only motivated her to work harder for next year’s contest. “I’ve already started studying hard for next year,” she said.

Submitted by Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School.