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Chicago Spelling Bee Champion Danielle Addo Competes In Scripps National Spelling Bee Preliminaries

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Can you spell winner?

Danielle Addo, an 8th grader from Amelia Earhart Elementary School, is representing the Chicago Public Schools in the preliminary rounds of the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee this weekend.

Danielle has earned a lot of hardware. But she won her biggest trophy in March, when she won the citywide spelling bee after 15 rounds of tough competition.

"Once I won, it was like time stopped," Danielle told CBS 2's Tim McNicholas in April. "I can't really describe it right now. It was so amazing."

She made her teachers and classmates from Amelia Earhart Elementary School proud as she nailed the word zocalo to win it all.

Even prouder was her mother, Julianna Addo, who moved to the U.S. from Ghana in the 90s with dreams of a brighter future.

We haven't heard yet how Danielle is doing in the Scripps preliminary rounds.

The first rounds of the national competition will be virtual, with 10 to 12 students moving onto the finals in Orlando in July.

Danielle is hoping to earn her family a trip to Florida.

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