SOPHIA HUA of Hill Elementary School (pictured with parents) was the winner of the recent 38th Elementary School Spelling Bee of the Garden Grove Unified School District (GGUSD photo).

Sophia Hua, a sixth-grader at Hill Elementary School in Garden Grove was the winner of the Garden Grove Unified School District’s 38th annual Elementary School Spelling Bee on Wednesday.

She took the top prize for correctly spelling the word “plagiarize.” In second were Sufyan Muthazzir (Stanford Elementary) and Ryan Tran (Garden Park Elementary).

“This year’s Spelling Bee truly highlighted the hard work and commitment our students bring to their academic goals,” said Board of Education President Lan Nguyen. “We are incredibly proud of our district’s outstanding spellers and grateful to our schools for the preparation and support they provide for such a demanding event.”

Each of the district’s 45 elementary schools entered their top speller after they held their school spelling be in January.

The GGUSD serves most of Garden Grove and parts of Anaheim, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Santa Ana, Stanton and Westminster.