13-year-old from Silver Lake advances to Scripps National Spelling Bee finals

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A 13-year-old from Los Angeles is among the finalists at this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee - and he's r-e-a-d-y for Thursday night's finals!

Oliver Halkett of Silver Lake is one of nine finalists competing in the spelling bee in Washington D.C.

The 7th grader at the Mirman School in Bel Air is competing for the second year in a row.

"I just practiced like hours a day," he told Eyewitness News.

He's reached the finals this year by correctly spelling "gobbe," which he said was the most difficult word to spell so far.

The word "polymorphism" was another tricky one, but clearly, not for Oliver.

Should he win Thursday night, the 13-year-old will take home $50,000, a trophy, and of course, national bragging rights. Not to mention a nice addition to his future resume as he already has big career plans.

"Maybe Attorney General or Secretary of State ... one of those positions. I think leading the governmental department would be really interesting," he said.