She accomplishes it all despite being born with a hearing loss.

Plantinga won't be able to hear all the words clearly when she takes the stage tonight to compete with 23 other students. The winner will represent Grand Rapids at the national spelling bee in Washington.

The Grand Rapids eighth-grader overcomes that challenge by studying the words and reading lips.

"Sounds are at different frequencies, so she listens for the vowels and watches for the consonants," her mother, Pam Plantinga, said.

"She also plays the violin and tutors at church on Tuesday afternoons," Plantinga said. "She's never complained or let it stop her from doing what she wanted to do."

A student at Grand Rapids Christian Middle School, Plantinga already has passed about 30,000 other spellers in grades five through eight.

The winner travels to Washington in June for the 78th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee, courtesy of The Press.

"I'm taking it more seriously than I did last year," said Anna, one of five returning competitors from 2004. "I guess it's because I know I could have done better if I'd studied harder."

By Rick Wilson