Arlington Hts. 14-year-old wins state spelling bee
An eighth grader from St. James School in Arlington Heights finally has her state medal. After finishing as runner-up in last year's Knights of Columbus state spelling bee, she came back this year and won.
Clarissa Gomez, 14, advanced from the local level, sponsored by the Holy Rosary Council in Arlington Heights, to regionals and ultimately the state contest, held in Chatham, near Springfield.
Oleander, the flowering shrub with bright, scented blooms, was her final word. She spelled it correctly to nail the championship.
"It was really nerve-wracking," Clarissa said, "because two of the final four competitors had beaten me before."
This was the 34th annual spelling bee sponsored by the Knights, and while it might not have the visibility of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, televised live each year on ESPN, the same mettle is required.
"I visualize each word in my head, and then sometimes spell it out with my hand," Clarissa said.
St. James has held a preliminary spelling bee in their junior high nearly every year the Knights offered it, and each time its winner has advanced through the local round onto regionals.
But Clarissa, having made it to the state championships two consecutive years, is their star.
"Spelling is an important piece of literacy," said St. James Principal Judy Pappas. "Kids who participate in spelling bees gain an understanding of language and an appreciation of reading and writing."
Clarissa describes herself as an avid reader, who breezed through the Harry Potter series in fourth grade and now loves adult fiction. She currently is reading "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak.
It was in sixth grade that Clarissa first found herself a competitive speller. As the winner of the St. James preliminary bee, she represented the school at the local level and eventually finished fourth at regionals.
"I was really upset, because only the top three got to go to state," she says.
She resolved to return and make it to the championships, which she did the next two years.
"I studied with my dad, from competition lists of up to 4,000 words," she explains. "And I was familiar with the Scripps bee, so I really wanted to make it to the state level."
Clarissa is the oldest of two children of Dr. Eric Gomez, a family practitioner at the Great Lakes Naval Hospital and Dr. Regina Gomez, an obstetrician on staff at Northwest Community Hospital.
The young teen credits her parents and her teachers with supporting her, but her inborn competitive instinct still drives her.
When she's not studying spelling lists, Clarissa plays piano and volleyball, and she also studies karate. In fact, her karate lessons present her with another goal she hopes to attain: her black belt, which she will test for soon.