Elm Student Molly Shanahan wins District 401 Spelling Bee

This article was written in support with support by Dave Poreca. To view galleries of each school’s spelling bee team, follow the buttons at the bottom of this article. 

Congratulations to Elm 6th grade student Molly Shanahan on winning this year’s District 401 Spelling Bee! Molly spelled “censure” to win the event in the 24th round. John Mills 5th grade student Luisangel Trujillo finished 2nd, and Elmwood 5th grade student Tristan Peters-Hampton placed 3rd. The District 401 event took place Thursday, Feb. 6th, at Elmwood Elementary School. 

Molly’s parents, Thanh and Don Shanahan, are proud of her win and all the time she spent preparing. 

“It’s great to see her find success in hard work,” Don said. “She practiced really hard and is very intentional in what she does, so to see those results pay off for herself and her own confidence means she’s even happier than we are!”

Molly with her parents Don and Thanh

Molly is not the only spelling champion in her family; Don won his district’s spelling bee in Peotone, IL in 7th grade. And his mother won her spelling bee growing up as well!

Molly is a busy student. Along with preparing for the spelling bee, she balances being a musician, a scholastics bowl competitor, and her academics. Both of her parents are teachers and are not only proud of her achievements, but her ability to juggle everything in a healthy way.

“We are very careful about her schedule,” said Thanh. “We are sensitive to her time. We want her to do the best that she can at what she wants to. We always tell her, ‘Practice makes easier,’ not practice makes perfect.”

Molly was able to prepare at a manageable pace through Elm’s weekly spelling bee practice. She was coached by her science teacher, Lauren Mastrianni, practicing each week with her peers. 

“She’s a great kid,” said Mastrianni. “You can tell she comes from a great family that loves her and supports her, and I think that’s one of the greatest reasons she’s so successful.”

Molly and her parents are grateful for the time John Mills and Elm teachers and staff have invested in her.

"We’ve gone through two schools of good people who work with Molly,” said Don. “Good teachers lift kids up, and we are thankful that Molly has had great teachers.”

Molly will advance to the West40 Scripps Spelling Bee

Molly’s hard work and support paid off, and she is thrilled by her first big win. This is her third year competing in the spelling bee, with her 4th and 5th grade finishes being in the 3rd and 5th rounds, respectively. 

“I feel like I knew I was going to win when there were 3 or 4 people left,” said Molly. “It was really exciting!” 

Molly now advances to the 15th Annual West40 Scripps Spelling Bee, which will be held March 5th at E. F. Lindop School, 2400 S. 18th Ave., Broadview. These and similar bees around the country are part of the process of selecting competitors for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Along with Molly, twenty students competed in the bee after qualifying as top spellers at their respective schools:

• Mauricio Alcala, 6th grade, Elm Middle School
• Sylvia Dabrowski, 6th grade, Elm Middle School
• Amelia Pogorzelski, 7th grade, Elm Middle School
• Silayda Robles, 6th grade, Elm Middle School
• Molly Shanahan, 6th, Elm Middle School
• Penelope Carey, 4th grade, Elmwood Elementary School
• Cameron Crawford, 5th grade, Elmwood Elementary School
• Kewin Jachym, 4th grade, Elmwood Elementary School
• Victor Morales, 5th grade, Elmwood Elementary School
• Tristan Peters-Hampton, 5th grade, Elmwood Elementary School
• Amillia Roman, 5th grade, Elmwood Elementary School
• Emmanuel Salgado, 5th grade, Elmwood Elementary School
• Valeria Villegas, 5th grade, Elmwood Elementary School
• Ryan Figueroa, 5th grade, John Mills Elementary School
• Viviana Ochoa, 4th grade, John Mills Elementary School
• Penelope Padilla, 5th grade, John Mills Elementary School
• Niecey Steffanoni, 5th grade, John Mills Elementary School
• Paul Swiderski, 4th grade, John Mills Elementary School
• Luisangel Trujillo, 5th grade, John Mills Elementary School
• Dylan Urban, 5th grade, John Mills Elementary School
• Alexia Valero Roman, 4th grade, John Mills Elementary School

Students at Elm Middle School were coached by Lauren Mastrianni, Elmwood Elementary School by Annina Meacham, and John Mills Elementary School by Amy Fishman. Thank you to all teachers and parents for your continued support! 

John Mills Team Gallery Elmwood Team Gallery Elm Team Gallery