For weeks, the Education Club prepared themselves for their 2nd annual Spelling Bee. The Bee was a fundraiser in which all of the proceeds from raffle baskets, bracelet sales, bake sale, and hockey tickets went towards Carnegie Elementary in the Carlynton School District. They raised over 1,000 dollars, and are now able to purchase holiday gifts and needs for the kids.
For three days, the club tabled in Nicholson, greeting those who eyed the baskets full of goodies, like big bags of candy, fuzzy socks, cans of Celsius, Chick-fil-A gift cards, and an Owala bottle. Additionally, they had a raffle for 2 Penguins tickets! Madeline Sarbo, who was at the raffle table that night, said this about the raffle baskets: “They were a great way to raise money, and also had many great prizes. I loved the spelling bee idea in general, and it was just so fun to watch”.
Finally, after two weeks of advertising, it was finally the big night. A large crowd gathered in the Olson Family Basement to participate, watch, and support the Spelling Bee. The basement was filled with smiling bee balloons, education club posters, and many more festive yellow and black bee decorations. Those who were in the Education club themselves even adorned fuzzy bee headbands.
With 18 contestants to start, it started off strong with everyone making round one, spelling “easy words”, given by the Word Master “Queen Bee” Rachel Tinney. Speaking of our contestants, each of them came to represent an RMU organization, and was given special thanks for showing up! There were participants from fraternities and sororities: Zeta Tau Alpha, Delta Zeta, Delta Phi Epsilon, Phi Mu Delta, Kappa Kappa Psi, and Phi Delta Theta. Other organizations represented were Top Secret Colonials, RMU Theatre, and the FYSP program. “I am so incredibly grateful for everyone who supported us throughout this process. It is so rewarding to have all of our hard work turn into such a successful event,” said the President of the Education Club, Amanda Gilkey. “I am so proud to have the opportunity to lead such a great organization that gives back to students.”
The crowd was lively, giggling at strange words like ‘kerfuffle’ and ‘Joe-schmoe’, cheering on their fellow peers as they stood tall at the microphone and tried to remember what letters went where. “It was a really fun night!” said Brenna Chase, who stayed to watch the whole bee, “I didn’t realize a spelling bee could be so engaging.”. As the Bee contestants were put to the test, Vice President Katelyn Walzer photographed the competition and those who attended: “The Spelling Bee was really a labor of love for me,” she stated. “It’s such a privilege to be working with the club to support a school district very close to home. I love being able to give back to the community that helped raise me.”
As the rounds went on, and the words got harder, the contestants began to lessen until there were four…then three, and then two: Gabe Bailor and Kay Mitchell.
The two had the ultimate spelling showdown, going back and forth for a good half an hour, battling to spell the championship word correctly. They spelled several complicated words, like “holonbenthic” and “croquembouche”. until finally, there was a winner. Gabe earned a 25$ dollar gift card, a medal, and a certificate, and Kay earned a certificate. “Thank you to the Education Club for a great night, as well as Zeta Tau Alpha for supporting me through everything I do!” Kay said.
The Spelling Bee winner, Gabe, and apparent Spelling champion, had this to say about his victory: “I wasn’t really expecting to win after the first few rounds…some of those words were kind of ridiculous. When I was in the final two against Kay, there was some sort of French dessert that came up. No idea how to spell that. Thankfully, I knew enough words to win the competition. Absquatulate, an abrupt goodbye, was not a bad word to win on. One of the rounds was kinda crazy, almost everyone messed up, and it was down to four people from fifteen. Honestly, it feels pretty nice to win, knowing that I’ve still got the skills that I had in 7th grade, when I won my school’s bee and then went on to finish 7th in the central PA regional bee. That was pretty cool. I have a natural skill when it comes to spelling. I just see the words inside my head, so any word I’ve seen more than a few times, I can basically spell automatically. I was definitely still nervous, though. I think it’s cool that the Education Club put on this event, and I’m excited to participate in the future since I heard it was annual.”
All of the contestants did very well, and were very brave for putting themselves up on the stage!
Finally, with the Bee over, it was time to call the long-awaited raffle baskets. The crowd waited in anticipation as each basket was called, such as the Movie Night basket, the Self Care basket, the Study Kit bin, and more. “I am so incredibly proud of the Education Club and the leadership team for hosting another very successful Spelling Bee,” said Angel Munzek, the founder of the Education Club. “Last year, when we came up with this idea, I was not sure how well it would stick, but it was successful yet again and made a lasting impact on children. I still have students from the class tell me how grateful they are for our generosity. I am forever thankful for those who decide to donate to our children in schools who can benefit the most from some warm holiday cheer,” she said. “Seeing the RMU community come together for one cause is incredible.”
The night was fun-filled and for a good cause, and another year of donations towards the elementary school, being able to purchase kids’ pajamas, gifts for the holidays, and school supplies.