Busy As a Spelling Bee

Bettie Closs, of Little River Elementary School in Durham, covers her face in disbelief after winning the Duke Regional Spelling Bee, which is sponsored by Duke's Office of Durham and Regional Affairs, Saturday at Page Auditorium. Students from elementary and middle schools across Durham and Orange counties gathered on Duke's campus to compete for the regional title. Closs won an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May.

Below, more than 60 students compete in the early rounds of the bee.

Photos by Megan Morr/Duke University Photography