Julia Denniss of Dunwoody participates in the 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee

Big words aren't so big to Julia Denniss.

They seem to come naturally for the Marist School 7th grader who earned her second visit to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. Her preparation hasn't been easy. "Lots of studying. I've been getting up at 5:30 every morning," Julia said before an afternoon practice session.

Her ambition isn't necessarily to win it, but to go one step further than last year. "My goal is to make it to the semi-finals because last year I was one point away," Julia said.

Dealing with the pressure that comes with competition is where Julia shines. "She's confident. I know that she's nervous on the inside. She shows a lot of poise on stage and she takes her time and thinks through everything, very slowly and very maturely," said Marist English Teacher Perrin Rains. "I think she could go all the way," Rains added.

The Scripps Spelling Bee runs June 2-4.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Julia Denniss
• Scripps Spelling Bee
• Marist School
• Dunwoody

[mitrai1234]

This girl is the first ever to represent GA 3 times in the National Spelling Bee, but you would never know it from her results there. She has only made the top 20 once, and twice failed to make the top 40 (including this year). She hasn't really done any better there than anyone else from GA. In fact, in the late '90s, an eighth-grader from Warner Robins placed fourth at the NSB in his very first (and only) try. Miss Denniss is obviously a good speller, but she seems a bit overrated to me.