When the top 20 finalists of the MTN mPulse Spelling Bee competition gathered at the MTN Rooftop auditorium for the grand finale in the early hours of Saturday, 26 November 2022, they had a clear understanding that only one person would win the grand prize and join the league of spelling bee champions.
Amidst proud parents, guardians, teachers, students, and a cheering audience who came from far and near, the finalists took turns to spell a broad selection of words with varying degrees of difficulty as assigned to them by the Bee Master, Titus Schwa Bankole. By the time the competition reached the elimination stage, the atmosphere was tense with the emergence of the top 10 contestants. Although the audience had evidently chosen their favourites and even predicted their winner, only a few saw the reserved Kate winning the ultimate prize.
Kate Ene David, the 14-year-old student from Intimacy with Christ International School, Mararaba, Nasarawa State, was the definition of cool, calm, and collected as she advanced word after word to emerge the 2022 MTN mPulse Spelling Bee Champion. She claimed the prize when she correctly spelt the word “acquiesce”, defeating Agbo Divine Capable, a fellow student from Intimacy with Christ International School, Nasarawa State, and 2nd runner-up, Okechukwu Rejoice, a student of Glorious Covenant School, Rivers State. Coincidentally the 3rd runner-up, Daniel Ann, was also representing Glorious Covenant School Rivers State.
In her acceptance speech, Kate appreciated her coach, family, school, and fellow contestant. “I thank God for this opportunity to shine. He is the secret to my success. Thank you MTN for giving children the opportunity to learn, play, and shine. Through this journey, I have discovered my talent and for this I am grateful.”
Having won the competition, Kate will go on to become MTN Nigeria CEO for a day. She equally won a 2.5M scholarship grant, a laptop, a smartphone, and an MTN goody bag. Her English teacher will also receive a ₦350,000 grant and her school will get state-of-the-art ICT devices courtesy of MTN Nigeria. All 20 finalists were also rewarded for their efforts with mouthwatering prizes.
The event wrapped up with participants wearing cheerful faces as they posed for rounds of photographs with proud parents, fellow students, teachers, MTN Execs, and members of the audience. The spelling bee competition is a self-development proposition by MTN Nigeria to help students between 9 and 15 years with the resources they need to maximize their full potential and it was no surprise that the majority of students who attended the event are eager to participate in the next edition.