JACKSON, Miss. – Yolanda Ni is the winner of the 2019 Mississippi Spelling Bee. Ni is an eighth-grade student at Oak Grove Middle School in the Lamar County School District. She spelled the word “apothecary” for the win.
The first runner-up was Soyeon Park, an eighth-grade student at Armstrong Middle School in the Starkville Oktibbeha School District. Park won the Mississippi Spelling Bee in 2017.
Mississippi Public Broadcasting broadcast the spelling bee live on MPB Television as well as online. The event was sponsored by the Mississippi Association of Educators and took place at the MPB Auditorium, 3825 Ridgewood Road in Jackson.
Ni, who was competing for the fourth time in the state bee, will vie for a chance to become the nation’s top speller during the 92nd Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. in May. The winner of the national competition will emerge from a pool of 11 million spelling bee participants.
For additional information concerning the Mississippi Spelling Bee, contact MAE Director of Communications Hannah Orlansky at 601-354-4463 ext. 3009 or email her at HOrlansky@maetoday.org.
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Mississippi Public Broadcasting provides relevant instructional and public affairs programming to Mississippians through its statewide television and radio network. MPB enhances the work of educators, students, parents and learners of all ages by providing informative programming and educational resources. MPB’s locally-produced programming focuses on the people, resources and attractions that reflect Mississippi’s unique culture and diverse heritage. Children’s television programs constitute a major portion of the daytime and weekend morning schedules. MPB provides a valuable resource to Mississippians in disseminating information as part of the state’s emergency preparedness and response system. Since 1970, MPB has won over 350 national, regional and statewide awards, including Emmy®, Edward R. Murrow and Parents’ Choice® Awards.
