On Saturday, according to ABC News, 5-year-old Edith Fuller made history as the youngest person ever to qualify in the regional Scripps National Spelling Bee. Way to start Women’s History Month strong, Edith!
In Tulsa, Fuller successfully out-spelled more than 50 of her peers from both elementary and middle schools throughout northeast Oklahoma.
“The Scripps National Spelling Bee is very proud of all of its spellers who advance and win their regional bee to qualify for the national final,” a Scripps spokesman told ABC News. “We certainly look forward to welcoming Edith Fuller and all of our more than 280 national spellers who will come to National Harbor in May to compete and enjoy a memorable Bee week.”
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And just what was the golden word, you ask? After asking judges the origin of the word she’d been given, according to the local paper, Fuller then spelled it out confidently, "J-N-A-N-A. Jnana.”
The word is a term in Hinduism that means knowledge. How fitting for the occasion, right? This was just one of many unusual words tossed Fuller's way throughout the competition. She also spelled out words like odori, colloquial, and sevruga.
“It’s fun to share her with everyone,” said her mother, Annie Fuller. “I knew she’d be a novelty, so I’m proud she held her own.”
Fuller’s family discovered their little brainiac had a talent for memorization after she successfully spelled out the word restaurant over dinner last summer. She’d never been taught the word before. “We knew there was something special there,” said her mother. “Learning the words was so educational. She was able to learn about different countries and cultures and different kinds of food.”
This May, Fuller will head to Washington D.C., where she's set to compete in the National Spelling Bee. While there's no minimum age to compete, fellow contenders will be as old as 15. Previously, the youngest competitors have been 6 years old, according to Mashable.