Kelvin Winney, right. Photo from GoFundMe
Kelvin Winney, a fifth-grade student from the Navajo Nation, competed in the 88th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee this week. Kelvin, 10, was among 285 spellers in the competition. He was eliminated in the second round on "malihini," a Native Hawaiian word that means “newcomer or stranger among the people of Hawaii," The Navajo Times reported.
Kelvin Winney, sixth from left in front row, at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Photo by Amy B Wang / The Arizona Republic / Twitter
“I didn’t recognize the word and that made me nervous, so I just took a guess," Kelvin told the paper. “My mind went blank,” Kelvin told The Washington Post. Kelvin and his family -- including his grandparents -- traveled to the National Harbor in Maryland, not far from the U.S. Capitol, for the competition. Get the Story:
For Navajo speller, bee is bigger than a single word (The Arizona Republic 5/29)
Diné eliminated in second round of Scripps bee (The Navajo Times 5/28)
At the National Spelling Bee, a day for tears, not glory (The Washington Post 5/27)
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