On his fourth trip to the Oakland Schools Scripps Regional Spelling Bee, Rahul Reddy, an eighth-grader at Notre Dame Preparatory Academy in Pontiac, Michigan, decided, this time, not to study so much. With the pressure off, he rose to the occasion to win by correctly spelling “notabilia.” For his collective years of effort, he earns a trip to the national finals. 

Photo credit: Dean Potter, The Oakland Press