Even though her mom thinks it might be time to look for other pursuits, Trina Alarkon-Desquitado isn’t sure she’s ready yet.
Alarkon-Desquitado, a seventh-grader at Oak Harbor Middle School, took third place at the Skagit County Regional Spelling Bee earlier this month, barely missing another chance to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
She’s been involved with the competition for three years, starting in 2013 when she won at regionals as a fifth-grader from Broad View Elementary School to qualify for nationals.
It’s that taste of success and a near-miss this year that has the 13-year-old thinking hard about making another go at it in her final year of eligibility in 2016.
“I feel like I should still do it,” Alarkon-Desquitado said. “Based on the results of this year, I feel like my spelling journey isn’t really done. I don’t think I’m satisfied with what I’ve done this year.”
Badette Alarkon-Desquitado said her daughter has nothing left to prove to her and is hesitant about encouraging another year.
To be a high-level participant such as Alarkon-Desquitado, the studying that is required is intensive and arduous.
That study time has kept Trina from participating in swimming and other extra-curricular activities during the winter months, her mother said.
The regional spelling bee added a vocabulary component this year, which only intensified the studying.
Instead of learning how to spell words from an extensive study list, participants also needed to research and understand their meanings.
“It’s getting tougher and tougher each year,” Badette said. “It’s too hard on the kids.”
Alarkon-Desquitado placed first in the written vocabulary portion that was part of the regional spelling bee this year and advanced deep into the spelling rounds only to stumble on a more common word that was unfamiliar to her and not on her study list.
Prepared for words with more sophisticated spellings from German, Dutch and the 12 other etymologies she studied, Alarkon-Desquitado could have handled a word such as “schadenfreude” or “bobbejaan.”
But she got tripped up on the word “appraisal.”
Julia McCoy, a seventh-grader from Mount Vernon Christian School, spelled “friar” correctly to win the regional spelling bee, which took place March 14 and involved 31 spellers from Skagit, San Juan and Island counties.
Lauren Shepard, a sixth-grader from Island View Elementary in Anacortes, was second.
Alarkon-Desquitado said she understands that third place is commendable and was happy to get back to the regional competition after missing it in 2014.
Her mother is ready for her to move on but remains supportive of the path she chooses.
“I’m already satisfied with what she has achieved,” Badette said. “I wouldn’t ask for anything else.
“When she tells me she wants to do it (again) because she doesn’t feel done yet, I understand that. I don’t know if she has something to prove for herself.”
