Bumpus 8th grader wins Hoover City Schools 2023 spelling bee

Bumpus Middle School eighth grader Serena Agrawal won the spelling bee for the Hoover school district last week, beating out the top spellers from 10 elementary schools and two other middle schools.

The district spelling bee, which was held at Spain Park High School, lasted 26 rounds and about 90 minutes before Agrawal captured the win by correctly spelling the word “profundity,” school officials said.

Agrawal said in a press release that she didn’t know the meaning of the word (deep insight; great depth of knowledge), but “it wasn’t too bad because it’s spelled how its pronounced.”

Jay Jacob, a seventh grader at Berry Middle School, was the runner-up and was eliminated after misspelling the word pallor, which means “an unhealthy pale appearance.”

Agrawal, 13, thanked her parents for helping her prepare for the spelling bee.

“The words themselves were not so hard for the bee,” she said. “The hard part is preparing for it and participating in the actual competition because I was so nervous.”

Bumpus Middle School Principal Donna Burke said the people at Bumpus Middle School are so proud of Agrawal.

“She works so hard at school, and it did not surprise us at all that she won,” Burke said. “We also look forward to cheering her on at the next level.”

Agrawal now will represent Hoover City Schools in the Jefferson County Spelling Bee in February.