RivCo 8th Grader Learns English On Youtube, Wins District Spelling Bee

BEAUMONT, CA — A 14-year-old San Gorgonio Middle School student who taught himself English by watching YouTube videos has won the Beaumont Unified School District Spelling Bee.

Ezio Camerino placed first in the district competition Feb. 13 and will now progress to the next round, the Riverside County Spelling Bee for a chance to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Ezio correctly spelled the following words to secure the title: “halcyon,” “bruschetta,” “tachycardia” and “calabash,” were all of increasing difficulty, according to a district spokesperson.

"The Oxford English Dictionary, 'calabash' appears just 0.4 times per million words in modern written English," Thomas Guzowski of the Beaumont Unified School District said.

The District Spelling Bee is open to students in fourth through eighth grade who qualify at their school sites. Contestants spell progressively complex words until one participant remains. A single misspelling results in immediate elimination.

Dr. Michael Breyer, the district’s director of college and career programs, discussed the extremely stressful event saying, "There are no second chances."

An analysis by Scripps and Babbel, referenced by Merriam-Webster, found that 48% of commonly misspelled words originate from Greek and Latin. Many of those borrowed words do not follow standard English phonetic patterns. That means one cannot simply “sound it out” to get the correct spelling, according to Breyer.

Ezio was asked how he prepares for spelling bee competitions, he mentioned using a phone app and reading the dictionary.

Though academics come easy for him, his parents say the
real challenge has been getting used to living in the U.S. A native of the Philippines, he moved to Beaumont, Calif., in 2025 with his family.

He learned to read, and say the alphabet when he was three years old, according to his mother. He perfected English by learning from Youtube, she said.

His mother, Harlene Camerino, says that "the Beaumont community has been very welcoming. “Everybody is, like, friendly. Loving the small talk.”

At the event, Jamie Park of Mountain View Middle School placed second, and Maximus Goodwin of 21st Century Learning Institute finished third.