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Hard Work Spells Success For Brandon Academy Student

Meador family photo

Brandon Academy principal, Todd Dupke, language teacher, Wendy Cartier, Brandon Academy student, Alina Meador, her mother, Linda Meador, and cousin Lisa Clark, a University of Tampa student after Alina won the Scripps Regional Spelling Bee.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 2, 2009

TAMPA - If 14-year-old Alina Meador ate up all her words at this weekend's Scripps Regional Spelling Bee, does that make her omnivorous?

That was the word she needed to spell to win the competition and the Brandon Academy eighth-grader spat out the letters without hesitation, emerging the winner over 14 other elite spellers from Bay area schools. The spelling bee was Saturday at the Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg.

"I studied about three hours a day for a month," Alina said today. "My language arts teacher helped; we had a language guide."

Friends, classmates and family helped her study, too. But a lot of it came down to her, on stage, all alone.

"I've always been a good speller," she said. When confronted with a word she didn't know, "I sounded it out and used a few rules that are in my study guide."

Gut instinct definitely plays a part, she said.

"We made it all the way to round 11," said Alina's proud mom, Linda. "And my daughter was the last one standing."

As a parent in the crowd of parents, "you want all of the children to win," she said. "You want all of them to do their best. It's sad to see the others step down."

The end result for Alina: a $100 savings bond, a Webster's dictionary, a slew of gift cards and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. _ the family's former hometown _ to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Alina will match spelling wits with middle school students from across the nation. The national competition is scheduled for May 26-28 with the final rounds aired on ESPN and ABC.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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