I started competing in spelling bees at the age of seven, when I was in third grade. I didn't have any big aspirations or goals, I just participated (getting fourth place) in the school bee because I had happened to qualify for it through a spelling test in class. I won my first bee when I was eight years old. After a while, I began to realize that I loved words and spelling, and I wanted to compete more seriously. I qualified for my first regional bee (the Colorado State Spelling Bee) when I was ten, which was when I started working with Dr. Scott Isaacs, the 1989 champion of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. I continued to work with him for the next three years. I won my first regional bee when I was twelve, qualifying me for the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee. I placed ninth in the national bee that year, and I qualified again in 2016 (my final year), placing fourth. The summer after my final national spelling bee, I traveled to California to participate in the Spelling Bee of China's North America Spelling Champion Challenge, a bee for any students in China or the U.S. I won this bee, which enabled me to take a trip to Beijing in August to attend the Spelling Bee of China's conference to start the 2016-17 spelling season as well as to participate in the Global Champions Spelling Challenge of China, which I also won. All of these experiences have had a great impact on my life, and I want to be able to share my passion for spelling with other spellers. In addition, being a more recent participant in the national spelling bee allows me to help spellers navigate rules, strategies, and complexities of today's bees.
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Below is a more formal list of my spelling-related experience:

Spelling Bee Competitions
2016

• placed 4th at Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. (out of about 285 spellers)
• won Spelling Bee of China's North America Spelling Champion Challenge (NASCC) in Riverside, CA
• won Spelling Bee of China's Global Spelling Champions Challenge (GCSCC) in Beijing, China
• won Colorado State Spelling Bee (my regional bee) (out of about 280 spellers)
• won area bee
• won school bee

2015

• placed 9th at Scripps National Spelling Bee (out of about 285 spellers)
• won Colorado State Spelling Bee (out of about 280 spellers)
• won area bee
• won school bee

2014

• placed 8th at Colorado State Spelling Bee
• won area bee
• won school bee

2013

• placed 26th at Colorado State Spelling Bee
• won area bee
• won school bee

2012

• won school bee

Spelling Bee Administration/Pronouncing
2018

• Contract pronouncer of 10,000 words for SpellPundit modules
• Word List Curator and Pronouncer for the Friends of Dinosaur Ridge's 2018 Science Spelling Stomp (upcoming on September 22, 2018)

• ​Pronouncer for 2018 Green Gables Elementary School Spelling Bee
• Pronouncer for 2018 Creighton Middle School Spelling Bee
• ​Pronouncer for 2018 Lakewood Articulation Area Spelling Bee

2017

• Judge in preliminaries of the Spelling Bee of China's 2017 North America Spelling Champion Challenge (NASCC) in Riverside, California
• Word List Curator and Pronouncer for the Friends of Dinosaur Ridge's 2017 Spelling Stomp
• Pronouncer for 2017 Creighton Middle School Spelling Bee
• Pronouncer for 2017 Lakewood Articulation Area Spelling Bee

2016

• Contract pronouncer of 1,100+ words (including definitions and sentences) for the Spelling Bee of China's online curriculum
• Arvada Harvest Festival Spelling Bee Word List Curator and Pronouncer

2015

• Arvada Harvest Festival Spelling Bee Word List Curator and Pronouncer

Spelling Coaching

• I have coached 13 different spellers, including one 2017 top 15 finisher.
• Five of my students qualified for the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee, and three were finalists (top 41).
• I have coached three students who have won their regional bees for the 2017 South Asian Spelling Bee (SASB) and one runner-up at a 2017 SASB regional. 
• I have traveled out of state for multi-day coaching sessions with high-level spellers.
• I am a featured expert on the Spelling Coach Expert Calling Network- http://spellingcoach.expertcallingnetwork.com/
• Partnering with Quizlet to give my coaching students a discount on Quizlet Plus

Public Speaking
2018

• Gave a presentation about spelling bees, language patterns, and word roots to the Jefferson County Retired School Employees Association in Lakewood, Colorado

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​2017

• Gave a presentation about spelling bees and languages at the Golden K Kiwanis Club of Lakewood, Colorado
• Gave a presentation about spelling bees, language patterns, and word roots to the Mountaineers group at Green Mountain Presbyterian Church in Lakewood, Colorado

2016

• Addressed approximately 50 members of the Chinese media at the Spelling Bee Of China's annual conference in Beijing, China
• Addressed the Colorado State School Board about my experiences in spelling bees

2015

• Addressed the Lakewood, Colorado City Council about my experiences in spelling bees
• Addressed the Colorado State School Board about my experiences in spelling bees

Other 
2018

• attended 2018 Linguistic Society of America national conference in Salt Lake City, Utah

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