ROCKFORD, Mich. — They say luck is when preparation meets opportunity. However, for 13-year-old Brady Bowers, this is anything but lucky. This dream come true is earned.
"This" refers to his next big challenge — taking the stage during the 95th Scripps National Spelling Bee.
"Major League Baseball players dream of even getting there, and then getting to the World Series. Basketball players dream of getting a buzzer beater in the NBA Finals. Spellers dream of making it to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. It was my dream for a long time, and now it's becoming true and it's surreal that's happening.”
Bowers is a seventh grader at North Rockford Middle School. He said his love for spelling started when he was just 3 years old.
“I got these flash cards that had big words like borborygmus. B-O-R-B-O-R-Y-G-M-U-S, which means, like, 'rumbling of the stomach.'”
He continued, “I was fascinated by these big words and I wanted to keep using them. Then, as I grew up, I got this 'Word of the Day' calendar by Scripps. I wanted to use that word every single day so I could just sound smarter and know more words to expand my vocabulary.”
Fast-forward to third grade, and Bowers appeared in his first-ever spelling bee.
“I got out on the word nicety, which I will remember for the rest of my life. N-I-C-E-T-Y," he said.
Nicety is a word that can mean accuracy or precision — both of which Bowers embraced after that disappointing finish.
“I just wanted to get revenge on the dictionary," Bowers said. "So, I kept going and now I'm here at the National Spelling Bee."
"Do you think that means you've gotten revenge?" I asked.
"I think so," he replied.
Bowers snagged his spot on the national stage by spelling "quadrilateral" correctly during a regional bee in late March.
“Once I heard 'quadrilateral,' I was like, 'Focus and get the word right. Then you can be excited.'”
Bowers will now take his talents to Washington, D.C. He joins a field of 231 students (10 from Michigan).
Bowers is the only student in Rockford's history to ever reach this stage.
“I just want to show my support for my community and do the best I can," he said.
The school's Spelling Bee Club coordinator, Shannon Dunham, said she never had a doubt in her mind.
“He's just so organized," she said. "I knew that you were gonna win the [regional] bee. He put so much extra time in it.”
Dunham said, even with that expectation, she still got emotional when that dream became reality.
“My daughter and I watched it, and we might have shed a tear or two when he won. We were so excited," she said.
Bowers takes off in ten days for Washington, D.C.
He said he's equal parts nervous and excited, but because of his preparation (and not luck) he knows he's right where he belongs.
There are four rounds in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Bowers wants to win, of course, but said he'll be happy if he gets past the first three.
If that happens, Bowers has his eyes set on another competition — the National Spanish Spelling Bee. Guess the English dictionary is just getting too easy!
The 94th Scripps National Spelling Bee begins with preliminaries on Tuesday, May 30. You can tune in live by going to the ION Plus or Bounce XL channels on your streaming devices.
Learn more by clicking this link.