Read more: Local, Education, Shelbina, Spelling Bee, Spelling, Scripps, Homeschooler, Elizabeth Platz, Platz, Winner
SHELBINA, MO. -- A northeast Missouri girl is headed to the Scripps National Spelling Bee the last week of May.
Twelve-year-old Elizabeth Platz of Shelbina won the Columbia Tribune's Regional Spelling Bee last week.
The homeschooler is not a newcomer to spelling bees.
She's been doing them for almost five years, and she has the trophies to prove it.
Elizabeth said she spent about an hour-and-a-half a day getting ready for the regional bee.
"I study a lot. My brain works in pictures so I can like look at the word, and then I'll remember it," said Elizabeth.
She described her big win for us, saying it was the tensest moment she's ever experienced.
"When you spell, you have to say the word, tetrazzini: t-e-t-r-a-z-z-i-n-i, tetrazzini. And she was like, 'That's correct!' and I was like, 'Wow! Oh my gosh, I won! (laugh)'"
Her mom, Kathy, helps Elizabeth study for the competitions.
Elizabeth says she plans to study three hours a day now to prepare for the national spelling bee.
