KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City area is sending four spellers to compete in the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee. In this 2021 Spelling Bee profile, we spoke with Drew Clawson of Gladstone.
DETAILS: Scripps Spelling Bee returns for 2021
Drew, an 8th grader at Oak Hill Day School in Gladstone, is involved in acting and singing, so he isn't worried much about stage fright, but says he's pretty competitive and always wants to win.
"It's just really cool, knowing that you've qualified for something that so few people do, and knowing that I've done that just makes it a lot more fun," he said in a recent interview with 41 Action News.
For the first of the national rounds set for June 12, Drew says he's preparing by writing a lot of spelling words, spelling each word with a family member over and over and over and by using the Scripps Word Club app.
Drew says since much of school was virtual this past year, and because he's done several plays virtually, he feels comfortable with the virtual parts of this year's bee.
He also doesn't have much of a problem with test taking, so he thinks he'll be alright.
"As soon as I get above top 50 I would be completely focused on winning, but I'm not sure that's going to happen," Drew said. "I can only control myself and what I know and I'm working to do the best I can to place as high as I can."
