e-x-p-r-e-s-s-i-o-n-i-s-m.
That was the word that sealed Tidioute Community Charter School seventh grader Allyvia Morgan's spot in the 62nd Annual Western Pennsylvania Spelling Bee that will be held this weekend in Pittsburgh.
The winner of last month's Warren County School District Spelling Bee is just one win away from the Scripps National Spelling Bee that will be held in Washington, D.C. in May.
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Allyvia Morgan
The preparation for Saturday's event is not for the faint of heart.
Allyvia's mom, Monica, said that they "try to do a couple hours a night" of practice.
"For the Warren County Spelling Bee, we probably studied a good couple hours almost every night," she said. "Just about every word on that list she could spell forward and backward. She takes it very seriously. Allyvia is very meticulous and wants to do the best that she can."
But there are 1,500 words on the list for Saturday's event that the Morgans received shortly after the Warren County Spelling Bee. "They are terrible, terrible words," Monica said of their level of difficulty.
With words like schabenfreude ("I think it means something about liking yourself," Allyvia said) and pfeffernuss, it would be hard to even know where to start preparing.
"We just do what we think we need to learn," Allyvia said. "We go over them all equally, just to make sure we get it."
Monica said that the list provided to them sorts the words by language of origin, helping out immensely.
German is one area that Allyvia is hoping to hone in on before the start of the Spelling Bee on Saturday. "We're working on that longer," she said.
Allyvia is one of 104 spellers selected to participate in the Western Pennsylvania Spelling Bee.
That's all the more impressive considering students from most of the counties in the western half of Pennsylvania are eligible.
Those 104 will be divided into two separate groupings, one starting at 8:45 a.m. and the other at 10:45 a.m., before paring down the competitors to an undetermined number that will compete in the finals at 2 p.m. Allyvia is in the 10:45 group.
She admitted to being nervous. Monica understands that, but has a different message.
"What I try to explain to her...what she's accomplished already is amazing," Monica said. "She's stressing herself out a little bit because she wants to do so well. We're telling her to be happy about the accomplishments she's had. If she wins, she wins. If she doesn't, we're good with that, too."
And that's the expectation that Monica has.
"I'm really proud of her. I told her if she goes in and spells the first word wrong, then it's great," she said. "I'm proud of her for what she's done."