For Mira Alnas, an eighth-grader at Heritage Academy who won the Lowndes County Spelling Bee, competing in the statewide spelling bee is a chance to put her skills to the test.
“I’d say the words in the advanced level are pretty interesting, so I get to compete with those other kids to see who knows the most,” Alnas told The Dispatch on Wednesday.
Alnas took home first-place at the Lowndes County Spelling Bee in January. Since she was named one of the top spellers to qualify for the state bee, Alnas has been preparing for her chance to qualify for the national competition. Her routine includes using flash cards and multiple choice tests to memorize more difficult words.
“I’ve always been good at spelling on elementary spelling tests,” Alnas said. “So I thought it would be fun to compete, maybe get a trophy and make my parents proud.”
Karen Pittman, high school principal at Heritage Academy, said Alnas has gotten a lot of recognition since her success in the county bee, including having her accomplishment added to the school’s marquee.
“She’s a very good student, and she’s very quiet,” Pittman told The Dispatch. “All of a sudden, she has just come out and shown her true colors. She is just smart and enjoying it and smiling.”
Alnas is one of state’s top 25 spellers who will be competing in the 2025 C Spire Foundation Mississippi Spelling Bee March 22 at Mississippi University for Women.
Countywide bees kicked off late last year across the state with 321 schools participating. The top three spellers from each county advanced to the semifinals, which determined who would head to the state competition.
Based on the semifinal scores of the top spellers, MSB Executive Director Lois Kappler said the competition this year is tough.
“It is so rigorous,” she said. “I think that it would really open up a lot of eyes if everybody had access to the words and vocabulary on this test. I’m always so impressed.”
The top 25 spellers will head to The W campus March 21 to start the weekend off with an ice cream social at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, Kappler said. Then they will have an opportunity to tour The W campus and meet professors and MSMS teachers. After a dinner break, spellers will meet in Poindexter Hall to prepare for the bee, she said.
“They get to do a run through on the stage (and) practice with the microphones, so they know the routine and what the expectations are,” Kappler said. “Then they get this great, fantastic goody bag to take back to the hotel and hopefully get a good night’s sleep to be back at 8 a.m.”
The top two spellers to emerge at the state bee will receive a sponsored trip to Bee Week, the National Scripps Spelling Bee, in National Harbor, Maryland in May.
“Bee Week is designed to provide the spellers with opportunities to connect and make lifelong friendships, enjoy activities around their interests, tour Washington, D.C. and compete in the spelling rounds prior to the televised finals, which are broadcast live,” Kappler wrote in an email to The Dispatch. “Each year, our spellers are getting closer to the final round!”
The Scripps National Spelling Bee program in Mississippi was in danger of disappearing in 2021 when the Mississippi Association of Educators pulled out as a sponsor. The Commercial Dispatch, the Columbus-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce and MUW stepped in to save the bee ahead of the 2022 competition.
The C Spire Foundation also began partnering with the Mississippi Spelling Bee in 2022, and became the bee’s exclusive regional partner in 2024.
Kappler said fundraising to send the winning spellers to Bee Week is ongoing.
“We’re very thrilled this year to be able to increase the winners’ gift that we give every year to help out with the expenses of travel and the trip,” Kappler said. “We’re constantly in fundraising mode, but it’s strictly all 100% going to the spellers.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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