Cool Kids: Power of the words
There is power in words. Just ask Scott Campbell, an eighth-grade student from Lakeland Junior High School. Earlier this year Scott competed in the Reader’s Digest Word Power Challenge Competition. Having placed first in the district, Scott advanced to the state competition, where he earned high marks for choosing the correct definitions for words.
“I got into the top 10 in the state,” said Scott.
The competition, which is sponsored by Reader’s Digest, is designed to test students’ knowledge of the meaning of words. It is based on the Word Power column in the magazine.
An avid reader, Scott decided to take the test at school to see how he would place.
Those individuals who scored in the top two in their school advanced to the next step which required taking an online test. The top achiever at that level determined who would represent the district at the state level. The honor was awarded to Scott.
The test, which was a multiple-choice format, required students to match words to their correct definitions.
“For example a question may say: If Bob was gregarious then Bob would be: (a) happy or (b) angry,” said Scott.
After winning at the district level, Scott said he read the Reader’s Digest Word Power column to help prepare for the state competition, where he was required to answer questions orally in front of a group of about 50 people.
Scott is enrolled in Strive, a program for gifted individuals. He takes honors level courses in both English and algebra.
Scott says he also enjoys track, in which he competed as a distance runner. But he is not sure if he will continue to compete in high school this fall.
“It was pretty fun, but the competition gets a lot harder in high school,” said Scott. “But it also gets a lot more fun with the pole vaulting and stuff.”
Although he loves to read, Scott says his favorite subject is science. With a weekly lab as part of the curriculum, Scott particularly enjoys conducting experiments.
“I find it (science) a lot more interactive than most other subjects,” said Scott.
He and two classmates recently had the opportunity to teach a lab. He said the group taught a class that simulated a mining culture, where the students used a cookie and mined the cookie for chocolate chips.
When it comes to his English course, Scott particularly enjoys learning about journalism.
“I like writing about current events and what is going on in the world,” said Scott.
Scott comes from a close-knit family, with a younger sister, Beth, in sixth grade, and an older brother, Chris, who is a sophomore. In his free time, Scott said he likes to play badminton with his brother and sister as well as basketball and any other backyard sports.
In addition to being outdoors, Scott, like most kids his age, enjoys listening to music.
Looking ahead to his future, Scott says he probably would like to go to college to study either business or radio production.