Iowa State University will be hosting the forthcoming Iowa finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee competition, it will be held at the Memorial Union on the 2nd of March. Every school’s spelling bee winner will compete at Iowa State. The winner of the Iowa finals will then compete in Washington D.C.

Although the competition will take place later this spring semester, organizing large events like the spelling bee demands a lot of effort and dedication.

The E.W. Scripps Company and local sponsors all over the United States have been organizing and initiating one of the most popular educational competitions; the National Spelling Bee. Enrollment begins every fall; many schools in Iowa will form programs that will encourage the students to take part in this competition. Participants are from grades 1 to 8.

Erin Wilgenbusch, Senior Advisor and PRSSA Faculty Adviser, will be involved in organizing this event. She mentions that their “goal this year is to encourage 20 participants” to take part. Wilgenbusch states that the spelling bee is a “great enrichment program,” the children will learn to challenge themselves, and she also states that it will “promote literacy.”

Madi Linkinmeyer, an Iowa State senior and member of the PRSSA, helped organize this event last year.

“One of our biggest challenges is recruiting Iowa middle schools to host their own spelling bee,” Linkinmeyer said.

Linkinmeyer expresses the difficulties the PRSSA encounters when organizing the event. She affirms that they are looking for at least 20 participants to enroll, as last year they only had 12 spellers.

The Greenlee School of Journalism is hosting the spelling bee, and the “PRSSA helps plan, promote and work the event,” Linkinmeyer said.  Greenlee pays the winning speller of the Iowa finals to travel to D.C. for the National Spelling Bee finale.