In 1982, I was the spelling champion of Saginaw County, Michigan. Participating in the National Spelling Bee provided me with an invaluable early lesson in how to study a large amount of complex material in a short amount of time and, just as importantly, it taught me that hard work and focused attention can indeed pay off. I was always the type of kid who did much better at contests and standardized tests than I did in school, and being able to participate in the National Spelling Bee gave me a boost of confidence at a time in my life when I really needed that.

I am very ashamed to have to report, I misspelled the word "scission" My excuse: it was the first round of the second day, my mom and I were staying at my aunt’s house in Arlington, and I barely arrived at the Capital Hilton on time after we got stuck in traffic, so I was extremely frazzled – I still can’t believe I added that "h".