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 (NASCC), 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.
In addition to my coaching, I am involved in numerous capacities with the Spelling Bee of China. I helped run the Riverside NASCC in the summers of 2017 and 2018, and I am now the Academic Director for their newest competition, the International Team Spelling Olympiad!
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
2020
- Pronouncer for 2020 Green Gables Elementary School Spelling Bee
- Pronouncer for 2020 Lakewood Articulation Area Spelling Bee
- Pronouncer and judge for 2020 SpellPundit Online National Spelling Bee
- Academic Director/Facilitator for 2019 International Team Spelling Olympiad in Towson, MD and Princeton, NJ
- Pronouncer for 2019 Green Gables Elementary School Spelling Bee
- Pronouncer for 2019 Bear Creek Articulation Area Spelling Bee
- Pronouncer for 2019 Lakewood Articulation Area Spelling Bee
2018
- Contract pronouncer of 1,000 words (including definitions and sentences) for the Spelling Bee of China's online spelling practice module, used for students in China who are learning English
- Contract pronouncer of 10,000 words for SpellPundit modules
- Judge for the Spelling Bee of China's 2018 North America Spelling Champion Challenge (NASCC) Team Competition in Riverside, CA
- Word List Curator and Pronouncer for the Friends of Dinosaur Ridge's 2018 Science Spelling Stomp
- 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 NASCC in Riverside, CA
- 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 spelling practice module
- 2016 Arvada Harvest Festival Spelling Bee Word List Curator and Pronouncer
2015
- 2015 Arvada Harvest Festival Spelling Bee Word List Curator and Pronouncer
Spelling Coaching
- I have coached 17 different spellers.
- Five of my students qualified for the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee, and three were finalists (top 50).
- Five of my students qualified for the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee, and three were finalists (top 41).
- One of my students qualified for the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee, and that student qualified for the primetime finals, tying for 12th place.
- I have coached winners of multiple regional spelling bees in Colorado, Ohio, Florida, and Washington.
- I have coached three 2017 South Asian Spelling Bee (SASB) regional winners, one 2017 SASB regional runner-up, one 2018 SASB national finalist, and one 2019 SASB regional winner.
- I have traveled out of state for multi-day coaching sessions with nationally well-known spellers.
- I am a featured expert on the Spelling Coach Expert Calling Network: http://spellingcoach.expertcallingnetwork.com/.
- I am partnering with Quizlet to give my coaching students a discount on Quizlet Plus.
Public Speaking
2020
- Gave four presentations about spelling bees, academics, and success in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City through programs of Babylons Vietnam
- Gave a presentation about spelling bees, language patterns, and word roots to the Jefferson County Retired School Employees Association in Lakewood, Colorado
- 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
- Formally addressed ~75 members of the Chinese media and Chinese students at the Spelling Bee Of China's annual conference in Beijing, China
- Formally addressed the Colorado State School Board about my experiences in spelling bees
2015
- Formally addressed the Lakewood, Colorado City Council about my experiences in spelling bees
- Formally addressed the Colorado State School Board about my experiences in spelling bees
Other
2020
- Featured as a guest word pronouncer and interviewee in a NPR 1A special on the canceled 2020 Scripps National Spelling Bee (also streamed live on NPR's Facebook page)
- Featured in Shalini Shankar's book Beeline about Generation Z and their relationship to spelling bees and competition
- Attended 2018 Linguistic Society of America national conference in Salt Lake City, UT