Sperreng Middle School's Nathan Collins is Good for a Spell

Name: Nathan Collins, 12

School: Sixth Grader at Sperreng Middle School

Family: Nathan is the son of Jack Collins and Moira Horton, of Fenton.

Acomplishment: Nathan placed fourth in the recent St. Louis Regional Spelling Bee at Maryville University.

Key to awesomeness: Nathan is a member of SEEK (Sperreng Exceptionally Eager Kids). He also is a member of the school's swim team, plays violin in the Sperreng orchestra, plays the fiddle" in the Sperreng Fiddlers and is a member of Boy Scout Troop 25.

At the spelling bee, Nathan spelled “embargo,” “autobahn,” recalcitrant,” “deleterious,” and “exuviate,” but finally missed on “avifauna” (birds of a region, period or environment).

“It took me about five minutes to spell deleterious, and when the judge finally said ‘correct,’ I sighed really hard because I was so relieved,” Nathan said. “Then, when I made it to the final round, I was really excited!”