Middleton speller gears up for third Scripps National Spelling Bee
Aiden Wijeyakulasuriya is one of two spellers representing Wisconsin in the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee. It will be his third and final time at the competition.
In 2019, Wijeyakulasuriya took 51st place, and last year he tied for 21st. But he says it’s not the idea of winning that keeps bringing him back to the stage.
“The place wasn’t really what I cared about,” he said in an interview. “I think that whole week was one of the best weeks of my life. It really inspired me to keep on spelling to go back just one more time.”
Wijeyakulasuriya said he aims to study for 3-4 hours every day and make up lost time on the weekends. Outside of spelling, he enjoys tennis, playing the oboe and being a boy scout.
Dinusha Wijeyakulasuriya, Aiden’s mother, said it’s been exciting to see how far he’s taking his interest in spelling and that it’s always helpful to have an expert speller around the house.
“English is not our first language. We came from Sri Lanka, so it was always our second language,” she said. “It’s amazing to see how much he’s learned, and we can always get some tips from him when we are writing something.”
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