On Dec. 7, 2024, Becton Regional’s National Honor Society took home the trophy in the annual spelling bee against Rutherford.
Dating back nearly 50 years with Becton’s earliest trophy from 1978, the spelling bee has been an event the National Honor Society looks forward to yearly. “I’m not sure how the tradition started, it’s been in place since I took over as the advisor, but I love the academic spelling competition! There is so much student pride on both sides,” Mrs. Amanda Colangelo, Advisor of the National Honor Society, commented.
In previous years, Rutherford has had a winning streak against Becton, but thanks to Junior Avyukt Gupta correctly spelling the word “braggadocio,” Becton officially beat the Rutherford team.
By the end of the spelling bee, there were only three students left, each of them from Becton – Akash Sathish, Noella Turla and Avyukt Gupta. Other top BRHS competitors included “Joseph Lapitan, Adam Almshref, and Tausifa Islam just to name a few,” Mrs. Colangelo recognizes.
Gupta found this spelling bee to be a breeze, as he is the top scoring Membean user in the entire school, on level 5 with 1,707 words, and only 445 words left on a high school level. He revealed that the majority of the words he was given were on his Membean list, including the winning word!
Senior Noella Turla was spelling bee runner-up. After the unfortunate loss last year, the Becton National Honor Society worked hard to get back on top. “Becton took this competition seriously and we put up a great fight,” Turla shared with satisfaction.
Students were advised to start their practice in September, but after NHS induction, students meet during lunch to study spelling words together. “We take note of which words are the most challenging and then we study really hard before the competition!” Mrs. Colangelo mentioned.
Both Gupta and Turla studied with the NHS and privately, even with family, to be sure that Becton would have a chance at winning. Additionally, Gupta mentioned that he typically spends 20 minutes each day on Membean, a habit he feels has contributed to his success. Turla also notes,”in AP Lit, we use weekly vocabulary lists to practice new words, which has really helped advance my vocabulary knowledge.”
In the end, Becton’s victory was not just about spelling; it was a testament to their hard work, dedication, and a little bit of braggadocio, as they proudly reclaimed their place at the top.
