Politics & Government

Western Springs Honors Spelling Bee Finalist With Resolution

Resolution recognizes Western Springs teen Alia Abiad's "hard work and dedication" in landing in top five of Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Western Springs village trustees honored the teen who made it to the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals month with a resolution during Monday’s board meeting.

Alia Abiad, 14, a recent McClure Junior High School graduate, competed in the finals finishing fifth in the prestigious national bee in Washington, D.C., last month. This was Alia’s second consecutive year representing suburban Cook County.

The resolution passed by a unanimous voice vote recognized Alia’s “hard work and dedication in attaining her fifth place finish among two hundred and eighty-one finalists from throughout the United States.” Alia will enter St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago in the fall.

Read the Western Springs Village Board resolution. 



When she’s not studying the dictionary, she plays violin in the Chicago Youth Orchestra. The person she’d most like to meet in the world is Pope Francis “because she finds him incredibly inspiring and thinks he has made a positive impact on the world,” according to her Scripps profile.

 “While I could talk about her amazing accomplishments at McClure, the best thing that I can say about her is that she is as kind, considerate, respectful and humble as she is intelligent. And she is brilliant,” McClure Principal Dan Chick told the Chicago Tribune.


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