Fil-Am family: Another shot at US Spelling Bee finals next year?

I am also very proud of the family; Jean, being my classmate in the BS Math pro
gram in UP back in the late 70s till early 1980s. It was through this terrific
son of theirs and the write-up I read from the Inquirer that I would learn abou
t a Fil-Am boy landing in the top 5 in the recent National Spelling Bee. When t
he article mentioned about John and Jean being math majors at UP, Jean, having
taught there after graduation, and Joseph more or less of the same age as my da
ughter, I began to suspect that Joseph's mother was my long-lost classmate, se
atmate and friend. That article however did not mention Jean's maiden name. Nat
urally curious, I searched and searched, until I bumped into an old article men
tioning Jean's maiden name being Alhambra. "Oh, my God!" was the expression tha
t came out from my mouth. I would learn from my research that the family lives
in Avon, CT. I searched for their phone number. I left messages on their phone,
telling Jean that I was Delia, an old friend trying to reconnect with her. But
Jean doesn't remember me as Delia, but as Flor (that was how I was called by t
he UP Math majors group and our professors), my complete first name, being Flor
delia. I wanted to congratulate Jean (and of course, her husband, and their son
). On my third try on the phone yesterday, I finally was able to talk with Jean
. She couldn't recognize my voice, after 25 long years of no-hear and no-see. S
he was the same "old" laughing buddy of mine. Her voice was very much the same.
We laughed worth 25 years of fun.

Jean and I studied together at UP-Diliman, were classmates and were really very
good friends. The fact that we were born and raised in the province (she in La
Union, I in Bohol) bonded us tightly together. We always would sit next to eac
h other. Math majors that we were, we were all so much into math. Numbers and
our love for numbers lumped us together into one unique category.

My life would send me to Japan on scholarship immediately after my last finals
in the BS Program; Jean would pursue her masters in math, which, I would also h
ave done, if not of the Japan thing. I would be reconnected with her yesterday.
I should thank Joseph whose achievements and the media glitz that he has recei
ved from these achievements led me back to renew a friendship.

My heart swells with pride for Jean, John and Joseph. I know that the other chi
ldren will be just as great.

The speller pictured with Joseph Henares is Nate Gartke, the second placer, not
Evan O'Dorney.

hi upontil, thanks for the heads up.

cheers!

Hi! it's great and inspiring for Filipino kids. I have a 7 year son who seem to
remember spelling such as meningococcemia which he saw on tv when he was 5 yea
rs old. is there a contest for 7 year old kids also, he is currently enrolled i
n UP integrated school. I hope someday he will developed also as one of the bes
t speller. He was assessed by Ateneo ACCCES for having an IQ of 139. thanks and
i hope i could get good results

We are based here in Haiti and we saw on satellite TV the Scripps Spelling B na
tional finals. While i was channel surfing i chanced upon this bespectacled boy
named Joseph Henares, and thought he was a Filipino. Indeed he is, after i rea
d the INQ article.

The words are really difficult them being foreign words integrated to the Engli
sh dictionary. But Joseph managed to get 5 or 6 straight correct spelling befor
e he got booted out. It was an amazing feat considering the depth of the field.
we also note that there were indians and chinese kids as well.

I have no doubt about our intellectual prowess. As what Joseph and the millions
of OFWs out there have shown, we can compete globally.

We only need opportunites.

I'm proud to say that indeed, a lot of Filipino kids are doing great in U.S. sc
hools. Another Filipino who tried his luck in the Scripps National Spelling Bee
championship finals held Thursday in Washington, D.C. was Raymond Soriano, a 7
th grader from St. Augustine school in Laredo, Texas.

Such a ego booster news for us pinoys here in foreign shores, congratulations !
& keep up the good work. We are proud of you.

Indeed happy to be a Flipino and in a way to be related. My students here in Ni
geria are also good in spelling. I wish all the kids be like Joseph.

OMG! Another success story for a Fil-Ams! I'm so proud that we can be sucessful
l outside of the Philippines and that this can cause raves and celebrations in
the country. This just goes to prove that we must get the F out of the country
and make our countrymen proud. - This is pathetic. Can't we do it here?

We, like the Henares', are also from Connecticut. Watching the Scripps National
Spelling Bee at the time, we were rooting for the boy from CT. And how proud w
e are that Joseph was among the top five and prouder that he is a Filipino.

This is great ! We watched the Spelling Bee with so much excitement and antici
pation. The Henares family makes us proud. Incidentally, my daughter, Joanna,
is the Spelling Bee champion in C.W. Dillard Elementary School in Wilton, CA.
She competed up to the district. It's a pity Joseph is already in 8th grade. H
e could have won if he came back next year.

KUDOS TO JOSEPH HENARES AND VERY SUPPORTIVE PROUD PARENTS.NO DOUBT PINOYS CAN B
E THE BEST ESPECIALLY IN THE FIELD OF ACADEMICS.I AM PREPARING MY GRANDSON TO E
VENTUALLY REPRESENT NC IN THE NEAR FUTURE.HE IS ALSO A MATH WHIZ.I AM SURE THIS
WILL CREATE A SURGE IN FUTURE PARTICIPATION AMONG PINOYS AND HOPEFULLY WITH MO
RE FOCUS AND PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT ,MOTIVATION AND ENCOURAGEMENT WE WILL SOON SE
E A PINOY SPELLING BEE CHAMP IN WASHINGTON D.C..

I was able to get in touch with Jean and her family, as mentioned in one of the
blogs below. She and her husband John brought her entire family to New Jersey
and stayed one night with us.

My daughter Maki (16) had flown in from Manila for a summer program and was abl
e to meet Jean's children. It was a friendship created through and from the fri
endship of their own mothers quarter of a century back.

We went to Sandy Hook and the kids enjoyed the sun and the beach. Maki and Mari
anne, Jean's oldest girl who's training I think to follow Joseph's footsteps, h
ad a great time with riding the tides. Joseph built huge sand candles with his
younger brother and baby sister.

Hubby Biboy and Jean's hubby, John, shared UP Diliman notes (Biboy received his
medical degree from UP PGH; John, his bachelor's and master's in math there).
Just like the time when we were in our late teens, Jean and I exchanged jokes a
nd the echo of our laughter rode with the waves. The youth in us still lives de
spite the appearance of white strands of hair.

That night Jean and I took control of the kitchen. Dinner was simple, and yet w
as alive with superb talk thrown from various directions. There is no doubt tha
t John and Jean have smart kids. The way they talked and the quality of talk th
ey exchanged at that age! Amazing and awesome!

It was gratifying to note that Jean, just like the kids, has remained simple an
d warm, and that the kids have been raised God-fearing. We went to church toget
her for Mass the following day, before they drove back to CT. We will meet agai
n next month in CT for the foliage-viewing.

I wish to thank this Inquirer blog, without which I would not have been able to
reconnect with my good, old friend and get to know her family.