La Conner youth makes another Bee-line to nationals

As usual, Charity Jordan spelled trouble for her rivals.

For the judges she spelled everything else. Letter perfect, at that.

The poised and humble La Conner eighth grader won her third straight regional Spelling Bee championship at Skagit Valley College in March. That secured her a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in the Washington, D.C. area for a third consecutive spring.

Charity will compete against the country’s top student spellers starting May 27 in National Harbor, MD.

Yet her rare regional three-peat isn’t all that makes Charity’s story so spellbinding.

She has likewise qualified for the elite Duke University Talent Search program, earning the opportunity to attend a two-week summer session at Rice University in Houston in July.

The Duke Talent Search helps academically talented students identify strengths, develop abilities and interests, and celebrate achievements both in and out of the classroom.

Charity, who aspires to a career in medicine, is excited to visit the Rice campus, noting it is next door to the city’s famed Hospital District and world class research facilities.

While at Rice she will be witness to lectures and labs at one of the top educational settings in America.

“I really wanted to go there,” Charity says of Rice, “because I know it’s a great university and I have an aunt who lives in Texas that I hope to visit.”

As with her trips to the nation’s capital for the Spelling Bee, going to Houston has involved a lot more than booking a flight.

Charity has twice taken and aced the rigorous SAT exam, a major college entrance test for high school students.

Among her biggest fans is La Conner Middle and High School Counselor Lori Buher.

“Charity,” says Buher, “is a really special student. She’s very talented and hard-working. And that hasn’t gone unnoticed. There are many community members who’ve gotten behind her and have encouraged her.”

That list includes Jan Henrie, of Shelter Bay, who recognized Charity’s potential for success upon their first meeting.

Henrie, a retired attorney, knows talent when she sees it, having established a Women’s Leadership Fund at her alma mater, Wichita State University.

“She’s a very amazing young lady,” Henrie says of Charity. “She’s very well-rounded, and when I met her I felt she would be an excellent candidate for the Duke Talent Search.”

Henrie was impressed with Charity’s scholastic prowess, natural leadership skills, winsome personality and wide range of extra-curricular pursuits, which has included playing on the La Conner High girls’ soccer team as an eighth grader.

Charity will put some of her outside interests on hold for a few weeks as she preps for the National Spelling Bee and juggles a full class load and assorted school duties.

Just last week, as student body vice-president, she made a formal presentation to the La Conner School Board.

“It took about two or three minutes,” says Charity. “I was a little nervous at first, but as it went along I got pretty comfortable with it. And it helped that I pretty much knew everybody in the room.”

It also helped that Charity is well aware – and thankful for – the support she has received in her endeavors from family, friends, teachers, coaches and local residents. “They’ve all been a huge part of it,” she says.

An avid reader, the personable Charity has little trouble getting to know others, both those she meets in everyday life and those on a fictional basis.

Consider her work with an ongoing social studies assignment requiring that she assume the role of a Civil War officer. For Charity and her classmates, part of delving into character means crafting regular journal entries from various stages of the war.

Returning to the National Spelling Bee means Charity will be in the region that boasts many of the Civil War’s best known battle sites.

While the war marks a divisive period in American history, Charity enjoys unified support here at home.

“She’s an extraordinary student,” Henrie says, “and I feel grateful to know her and to be her friend.”

Buher agrees.

“We’re all excited,” she says, “to watch Charity as her academic career goes forward.”

And, being an eighth grader, that should be for quite a lengthy spell indeed