The Lillian S. Young Spelling Bee is a historic event at Norwich Free Academy. The Lillian S. Young spelling bee has been running annually since 1982.

Kathleen McCarthy is the Executive Director of the NFA Foundation, which provides prize money to the winners of the Spelling Bee. “The Bee started because Lillian’s son, Winfred Charles Young, who was a member of the class of 1909… left money in his will to start the Spelling Bee.  His mom never had the opportunity to go to school so this was his way to honor the importance of education she instilled in him throughout his life,” McCarthy said.

“The money that was given to us was put into an endowment. So what that means is we invest the money and never touch the original gift but the earnings on that investment is what we give to the kids. From the first spelling bee, we were giving $100 to the winners. We now give each of the winners $2,500, but we can give up to $10,000 in rewards in total,” McCarthy explained.

The Bee has a rich history with great prizes. Vivian Lau, the winner for the Class of 2026, said “I felt rather nervous going into it. I wasn’t expecting to win or lose.” Vivian won by correctly spelling the word “blasphemy.”

Isabella Tan, who won the Class of 2027 competition, said about her experience in the Bee “The entire experience was exhilarating and very surreal. I went into the Spelling Bee without expecting that I would win, so I was beyond excited when I did.” Isabella won with the word “aspersion”.

“I felt proud that I could be standing alongside my classmates in the competition, and especially beside the other winners. And to be honest, the best part wasn’t even winning—it was when I received all my friends’ congratulatory messages. Nothing could have made me happier than seeing how excited my friends were for me,” Tan added.

Other winners include: Jacob Randall (Class of 2028), and Erin O’Farrell (Class of 2025).