ESCANABA – An eighth grade student from Holy Name Catholic School in Escanaba is headed to Washington D.C. to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Rushil Kasetty, 14, won the Upper Peninsula Community Education Association Spelling Bee last week in Negaunee. He competed against 53 students from across the U.P. It was hosted by Ishpeming-Negaunee-NICE Community Schools.

Kasetty has long been fascinated with spelling which he picks up from everyday activities.

“I read a lot of books and my teachers obviously help me with spelling. And then I just study, really, by looking over word lists,” Rushil said.

He also studies the rules on how to spell which can help him spell words he might not even know.

“You have to learn origins, you have to learn word roots, you have to learn rules of English and then, even if you’ve been given a word that you’ve never heard, you can still sometimes spell based on the definition and word roots,” Rushil said.

Kasetty will compete against 270 other students at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. from May 25-31.