BOISE — Brooke Egbert is known by many different titles by her peers--from student council co-president to Fiona in the musical production of "Shrek." If just one title had to sum it up, it would be neither of those.
"Most people know me as the girl who loves school," said Egbert.
She's also no stranger to the spelling stage. This weekend she's heading back for her third consecutive year at the Scripps Southwest Idaho Regional Spelling Bee.
"I got out on the first round, and I did not take it well," said Egbert. "The next year was fun cause I went again and I kind of knew how it works, and I decided I'd try and study more, and that did a lot more than I thought it would cause I got 4th place."
Heading across district lines, other contestants are preparing for their very first time competing.
"It's just like spelling; it's really challenging, and I like a challenge," said 5th-grade contestant Tayshaun Hayle.
Tayshaun overcame his own challenges to get here, but qualifying for the bee is something he's worked especially hard for.
"At first I didn't know that when you have to spell a capital word like Venus, you have to say capital 'V,'" said Hayle. "Good thing someone else figured that out before I did."
Both of these students practice every day, but they don't just do it for the competitive aspect; it's more about their love of learning.
"I've always loved reading and writing stories, so maybe it's just some connection with words that I've made, but I just thought it would be fun," said Egbert.
If a victory comes their way, their immediate plans are fairly straight-forward.
"I'll start studying, of course, for the next spelling bee," said Egbert.
