After handily defeating fellow spellers in his school and countywide, a seventh grader from West New York is gearing up for the national competition in Washington, D.C. this week.
Joshua Casquejo, a student at West New York Middle School, will compete against 292 of the nation’s other great young spellers in the three-day, five-round Scripps National Spelling Bee for students age 9 to 15 from May 26 to 28.
The 12-year-old already won the West New York Middle School Spelling Bee this past February and the Hudson County Spelling Bee in March.
His principal, Anthony Ferrainolo, said that this was the first time West New York had a student compete in the national bee.
“I am pretty smart, so that’s probably what made me a good speller,” said Casquejo. He said that he does read, but not as much as one might think.
“I don’t really read that much,” he said. “If I have nothing else to do, I sometimes read random things like, let’s say, on the back of water bottles and such.”
Casquejo added that he has a “somewhat curious” mind that keeps him searching for new things to learn about and therefore, helps him expand his knowledge and vocabulary.
He also sometimes uses a more direct method, he said, and sits down with a dictionary and just starts reading. However, this is not how he usually studies for a spelling bee, said Casquejo. Instead, one of his parents uses a guide to quiz him for at least one hour every evening. Other than that, said Casquejo, he isn’t going to do anything special to help him win.
“I have a good feeling about it.” – Joshua Casquejo
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His winning words so far have been “luscious” and “mendacity.” As far as the national competition, he said he think the words will be much harder but that he’ll be able to pull through it.
“I have a good feeling about it,” said Casquejo.
And if he doesn’t win this year, he said, “I still got next year.”
The winning word last year was “guerdon” and in 2007, “serrefine.”
Spelling bee aside, Casquejo said he is just as excited to visit Washington, D.C, especially the White House, for the first time.
“It’s a national landmark, and I will be able to see it with my actual eyes,” he said.
However, he is not planning a career in spelling or politics. Instead, he said he wants to do something involving computers.
“I want to be in something that has to do with technology, maybe an engineer or designer,” he said. He added that he also incorporates technology into the modern piano music he likes to play, but for practice, he has played classical since he was 7 years old.
Casquejo said he is also into sports. He is currently an outfielder on the West New York Little League team called Lenny’s. He also likes gym class and watching the Discovery Channel.
Casquejo has lived in West New York all his life, he said, with his mother, father, and little brother.
“It’s a fun place to live,” he said. “It’s not full of rich people, but it is not full of poor people. I can relate to a lot of the people here.”
Amanda Staab can be reached at astaab@hudsonreporter.com.