VINDICATOR WINNER Local champ buzzes onward to national spelling contest

The national competition begins Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
BOARDMAN -- Boardman Center Middle School teachers and pupils lined the halls Friday afternoon clapping and cheering to congratulate a group of students being honored for their achievements in competition on the regional, state and national levels.
Only one in the group is competing on a national level. Eighth-grader Ellyanna Kessler will be heading to the nation's capital this week to compete in the 78th Scripps National Spelling Bee. Ellyanna qualified for the national competition by winning the 72nd annual Vindicator Spelling Bee on March 19.
She will be among 273 students vying for the title of top speller and $12,000 in prize money. The competition will be held Wednesday and Thursday at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
At The Vindicator's spelling bee, Ellyanna edged out one of her best friends, Dori Levy, an eighth-grader at W.S. Guy Middle School in Liberty, by correctly spelling succinct and protean.
When she competes in Washington, the word list will be decidedly more difficult. She admitted that not many words on the study list provided by Scripps look familiar, but she said knowing the origin of a word can be helpful in the spelling contest. Nonetheless, Ellyanna said she's ready for the challenge.
"I'm just really excited because it's the national spelling bee, whoa," she exclaimed.
The honor student said she has been surprised by the attention she has received from her school and the community since winning the Vindicator bee.
Local recognition
She was recently recognized at a meeting of the Rotary Club of Youngstown, with her parents, Sandy and Chaya Kessler as well as grandmother, Molly Kessler, a Rotary member, proudly looking on. The Rotary presented her with a U.S. Savings Bond and a watch from Smith & amp; Co. Jewelers.
"At first I didn't think it was that big of a deal, but it was that big of a deal," Ellyanna said. "It's pretty amazing."
Ellyanna, who is a voracious reader and a participant in the Lyre Review for students at Youngstown State University, said she hasn't been obsessed with spelling every word in sight.
"I don't study as much as I think I should, but it's kind of fun to study at times," she said.
Chaya Kessler, Ellyanna's mother, emphasized that her daughter has so many different interests, "It does my heart good to know that she's so good in many different venues. She's a dancer (Ballet Western Reserve), a reader, a musician, a wonderful daughter and a terrific sister."
Ellyanna has checked out the Scripps Spelling Bee Web site to see just who her competition will be and is looking forward to meeting other spellers and perhaps making some new friends.
"It's interesting to see all the different kinds of people and all of them from different places," she said.
Her father, Sandy Kessler, said that no matter what happens at the national bee, Ellyanna has a good attitude. "She has kept her sense of perspective," he said. "She's going to do her best and have a great time at the events leading up to the competition and after."
He added, "As parents we appreciate the fact that she can concentrate so fully and that she's willing to put in the time and effort to achieve what she wants to achieve, and we're proud of her for doing it."
Family
Ellyanna is the youngest of the Kessler's four children and the only girl. Her brother, Ben, set to graduate from Boardman High School, will be competing in a national speech and debate competition in Philadelphia on June 12, the same day as his graduation.
He said that he's proud of his younger sister, joking that "he taught her everything she knows."
Brother Ari is studying music at Ohio State University, and Oren is at the University of Cincinnati.
While in Washington, Ellyanna will see many of the historical sights in and around Washington and participate in many activities planned for the spellers by the Scripps National Spelling Bee organization.
Starting with round five of the competition Thursday, the event will be broadcast by ESPN from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.