(La Porte, IN) - It was a send-off from his classmates to remember earlier this afternoon for a La Porte student headed for the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C.
Nolan Roule, an 8th grader at St. John’s Lutheran School, was seated beside his father, Mark, and mother, Sydney, during the first part of the celebration in the school gymnasium, which included speakers Mayor Tom Dermody and Joe Martinsen, the last student from the school to quality for the spelling bee in 1988.
Martinsen, who himself was a former classmate of Nolan’s father at the K-8 school and later at La Porte High School, advised Roule to enjoy the experience and not to put pressure on himself during the competition.
“It’s really great to see that he’s going. I’m excited for him,” said Martinsen, who now resides in Carmel, Indiana.
Mr. Roule credited his son’s love of reading for his spelling ability, because of words entering his memory banks from every page.
“He’s reading all of the time so a lot of the words some of the other kids might not have known, Nolan was familiar with. He’s a bright kid,” he said.
Sally Foglesong said Nolan was in her first-grade class at the school and was good at spelling then. “He’s a great student. I’m sure he’ll go far,” she said.
Nolan’s father as an attorney followed in the footsteps of his father, Art Roule, Jr., who was once the attorney for the City of La Porte.
The three-day spelling bee starts on Tuesday. Nolan qualified for the national bee as a result of winning a regional spelling competition in Knox after coming out on top in spelling championships at his school and later against other students countywide.
