VALDOSTA — Ask a Valdosta or Lowndes County kid to spell, and they may go all the way to the state bee.

Henry Corbitt of Lowndes Middle School and Burnis Williams of Valdosta Early College Academy have big plans Friday that include driving to Georgia State University in Downtown Atlanta and participating in the Georgia Association of Educators State Spelling Bee. 

The state bee placement comes after Corbitt won the regional bee and Williams won first runner-up in Bainbridge.

Corbitt won when he spelled ocelot, a wild cat native to the southwestern U.S.

“The only reason I could remember what it was is because it’s from an episode of ‘Phineas and Ferb,'” Corbitt said, referring to a cartoon show. “It’s harder to think about a word. If you’ve read a word and used it in context, then you know what a word is.”

Williams misspelled paradigm, a word that means a set of concepts or theories.

He has competed in spelling bees for several years, but this is the first time he won district and placed after regionals.

It’s a once-in-a-lifetime moment to go to state, he said.

“I’ve studied every day even though I have extra curriculars,” Williams said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it’s my last year being able to do it, so I want to make the most out of it.”

Corbitt competed once before in the fifth grade and made it all the way to state.

This year, his goal is to win at state and go to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., but it’s also about the opportunity of revisiting state in Atlanta that has him the most excited, he said.

“It’s the fact that I get to go,” Corbitt said. “At this point, I’ve already done my stuff. If I win, I win. If I don’t, it’s OK.”

To be at state is an exciting way to end Williams’ last year of middle school, but it’s also nice he won’t be there alone representing Lowndes County, he said.

It’s also just fun when you love words as much as he does.

“There’s so much that goes into writing,” Williams said. “What you put on paper is a lot more than just sentences — it’s what you’re thinking, and it’s a powerful thing.”

Katelyn Umholtz is a reporter with the Valdosta Daily Times. She can be contacted at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256.