Creative billboards recognize Spelling Bee champion from Tampa Bay area
Tampa student wins National Spelling Bee
FOX 13's Kylie Jones spoke with past spelling bee winners from Tampa, along with the newest champion, 12-year-old Bruhat Soma.
TAMPA, Fla. - For the second straight year, a student from the Tampa Bay area won the Scripps National Spelling Bee competition, and a creative billboard congratulated the student in a creative way.
READ: Tampa Bay area student wins 2024 National Spelling Bee
Bruhat Soma, a rising eighth grader at Turner/Bartels K-8 School in New Tampa, was crowned the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion last week after winning in an ‘overtime’ spell-off.
Courtesy: Outfront Media
Now, some Tampa billboards are recognizing his victory with a message befitting a spelling champ.
Tampa Bay area student wins Scripps Spelling Bee
A Tampa Bay area student took home the trophy in the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee after an electric finish.
The billboard features two misspellings of the word ‘Congratulations’ crossed out with red lines and then finally the correct spelling at the bottom with his name in bold lettering.
Soma spoke to FOX 13 last week and said the victory is ‘like a dream come true.’
"Last year, I was really disappointed, because my goal was to make finals last year, but then I lost in the first round of quarters," Soma said.
His winning word was ‘abseil.’ It's a Germanic word, meaning a ‘descent in mountaineering by means of a rope looped over a projection above.’
He received a trophy and more than $50,000 in cash and prizes as champion.
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