Canton's speller turns language skill into victory

Julianne Liliestedt has learned a lot in her 12 years.

The Plain Township resident is bilingual, fluent in Romanian, and soon probably will be considered trilingual, with lessons in Spanish quickly paying off.

More: Canton Country Day sixth-grader wins Repository spelling bee

More: Our champ recalls her spelling bee crown

She enjoys crocheting and also sews.

She’s been in dance classes since she was 4, in disciplines such as ballet and modern dance.

Oh, and she’s also just completing sixth grade at Canton Country Day School in Plain Township.

You might wonder how she will find the time to head to the 94th Scripps National Spelling Bee competition in a few days. She will represent The Canton Repository in the competition, after winning the Rep’s Regional Final Spelling Bee in March.

Julianne’s parents said they had no expectations when the Rep’s regional bee started.

"We were just excited to see her," said her mother, Maira. "When I saw four trophies on the table, and when she was getting close to being one of the last four, I thought 'She might actually get a trophy. How cool would that be?' We didn’t have expectations. It was just very cool to see her do so well under pressure. She’s a very cool little performer. She seems to like to be on stage and do her best in the moment."

Scripps Bee undergoes changes, again

Julianne said she has spent a good bit of time studying the various lists of words and definitions that organizers provided.

It will be Julianne’s first time competing in the national event, which runs Tuesday through to Thursday at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

The bee this year has undergone significant changes, including a move from its longtime television home on ESPN to the ION Network. The event also will feature actor and “Reading Rainbow” host LaVar Burton as its official host.

Spellers this year will compete in person for the first time in two years. The bee was canceled in 2020, and had a partly virtual format in 2021.

Spellers this year will take the stage for the first time Tuesday, when each speller will potentially face three rounds of competition in a single turn. First up will be a spelling word. If they spell it correctly, they will receive a vocabulary word, and multiple choices for its definition. If they also get that correct, they’ll receive another spelling word for Round 3.

Spelling that third word correctly will move them to the second day of competition on June 1. Any misses in those three turns will eliminate the speller from the contest.

Julianne Liliestedt an avid reader who loves the beach

Julianne is used to being on stage, having performed in recitals and plays over her short life. Her mom, Maira, is an accomplished pianist who has been a music professor at University of Mount Union for 14 years. She received her doctorate of musical arts from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Julianne said she began playing piano at age 4, with her mother as her teacher. She recently took part in Canton Country Day’s performance of "Matilda Jr." as a member of the chorus.

It’s easy to forget she’s merely 12 years old when you look over those achievements. But, they’re the product of a curiosity and level of creativity that also keeps her active.

She’s read the entire Harry Potter catalog twice, once each in English and Romanian, listing the sixth book in the series of seven, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," as her favorite.

Julianne soon will tackle another of her favorite things to do with her mom, when they and father Bruce head to Fiji for a lengthy vacation. Julianne and Maira love the beach, spending hours creating intricate sand structures. Julianne said she also now enjoys water parks.

Asked why she so enjoys the beach, she was typically thoughtful: "If we dig down deep enough, there’s always water."

Speller hopes to become a teacher

Julianne said she thinks it’s likely she’ll follow in a lengthy family history of being educators. Other than her mom, both of Julianne’s grandparents were teachers.

Maira’s mother taught chemistry and Bruce’s mom taught children in several elementary school grades. Bruce’s mom also has fostered Julianne’s artistic side, teaching her to crochet ("It’s easy," she said. "But difficult to teach."); to sew doll clothes on a sewing machine; and also to enjoy other types of art.

An aunt also home-schooled her children.

Let’s also not forget to mention that Julianne’s playtime has often included time playing school with friends or her toys.

Julianne said her favorite subject is social studies, and she loves language arts, because, she said, of Canton Country Day teacher Susan Criswell.

She said at this point teaching third, fourth or fifth grade is best, because "little kids are too crazy, and middle-schoolers are too bouncy."

Spelling bee facts

The 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee will include 234 spellers. They come from all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., along with the territories of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Spellers also come from U.S. Department of Defense schools in Europe; the Bahamas; Canada; Germany; and Ghana.

Spellers come from grades two through eight. The youngest spellers are Nam Nguyen, a 7-year-old second grader from South Dakota, and Matthew Yi, a 7-year-old fourth grader from New Orleans.

Ohio has 14 spellers in the bee. The youngest is 11-year-old Avinav Prem Anand, a fifth grader at Freedom Trail Elementary School in Lewis Center. Along with Julianne Liliestedt from Canton Country Day School, there are three sixth graders from Ohio. The Buckeye State also has six seventh graders; and four eighth graders.

The closest speller geographically to the Canton area is Andrew Yeager of Doylestown, an eighth grader from Doylestown, who represents the Akron Beacon Journal in the bee. This marks Yeager’s second consecutive national bee appearance.

Historically, Ohio ranks second on the list of states that have produced spelling bee champions. Texas has had 15, while Ohio has had nine. Two Ohio papers – Akron Beacon Journal and Canton Repository – have a combined five of those.

For information on how to view the spelling bee, check spellingbee.com.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton Country Day speller heads to Scripps National Spelling Bee