Clovis Christian student takes Bee

How do you spell success? For Charles Busija, it's hard work and faith.

"When I won, I felt really happy because God led me through and helped me remember everything that I studied," he said.

Charles, 11, is Curry County's top speller, having won the annual bee Jan. 19 at Clovis Community College.

He competed against 25 other contestants who came from schools throughout the county.

It wasn't easy. Charles said as the competition got smaller, and the words became progressively more difficult, he began to feel a bit nervous.

But the training with his mother and younger sister helped him through "lymphoma" and "Gilgamesh" and finally "Bunsen burner" for the win.

Coordinator Linda D'Amour said each of the participants were given about 4,000 words to memorize before the competition. Participants were challenged with spelling the words, but also with knowing their origins and definitions.

D'Amour said the words are selected from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. She said readers tend to be the best spellers.

Another of the county's best spellers is Angela Busija, Charles' sister. She took third place in her first year to participate.

Bhabet Busija, the children's mother, said she loved seeing their self-discipline that led to success.

She said she never forced their competitive sides out, but it was something that came to them naturally.

"It makes me so proud of them. They've been working so hard for this and they want to make their school proud," Bhabet said.

Charles said he studied every other night for the event. He said whenever homework or school activities got in the way, he made sure to find another time to memorize words.

Charles said he has always been an adamant reader with the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series his all-time favorite.

He said what encouraged him to expand his vocabulary and compete – this was his fourth year in the bee -- is the pride he has for his school, Clovis Christian.

"I just want to prove to myself that even if I come from a small school or town that I have a chance to make a big impact. I want to give pride to my school," he said.

D'Amour said Charles and second-place finisher Hayden Ariaz will take an online prerequisite spelling test on Feb. 28 before they can participate at the state level. She said only the top 25 students within the state will compete at the competition on March 23 with the state winner advancing to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May in Washington, D.C.