“Schadenfreude,” or the art of delighting in another’s misery, was a toughie for contestants in the 36th Annual First Literacy Spelling Bee Thursday in Boston.
Financiers, airline personnel, accountants and took on that and other fifty center words during the spirited fundraiser. (Couture, anyone?)
Twenty teams of three faced off in the competition, to raise $265,000 for the Boston-based adult education program, First Literacy said in a statement.
Akamai Technologies won the trophy correctly spelling the winning word, qubit, a unit in quantum computing.
They beat out the Community’s United team sponsored by the Peabody Essex Museum in the final round, the statement said.
Money raised by the teams’ sponsors will fund scholarships for adult learners, professional development workshops, and grants for basic education programs, according to the nonprofit.
Former WBZ news anchor Josh Binswanger emceed the competition for his 16th year entertaining the almost 200 attendees at J.P. Morgan on Fargo Street, according to First Literacy.
Speakers also took to the stage to talk about the impact the organization has had on their lives and communities, the nonprofit said.
“Education is a pathway to opportunity, independence, and growth,” said Christele St. Jules, a First Literacy scholar. “First Literacy was “more than a scholarship program, it was a family,” she said.
A First Literacy Scholarship allowed St. Jules to attend Bunker Hill Community College after she immigrated from Haiti, the organization said.
Tammy McDonald from Blue Hills Education, explained in her speech that a First Literacy grant funded their digital literacy program, the statement said.
For Blue Hills Education’s students, technology is now no longer “unfamiliar and intimidating,” McDonald said.
Chloe Pisani can be reached at chloe.pisani@globe.com.