Spelling has always had a special place in my heart and I knew that aging out would never change my love for it. My biggest fear when losing eligibility was the Bee forgetting me. After pouring in my time and effort for my entire childhood, spelling became a part of me. My whole childhood, I was practically eating, breathing, and living spelling. I couldn’t imagine a life not being a speller.
After competing in my last National Bee in 2021, I was devastated knowing that I couldn’t compete anymore. I didn’t know what to do with myself. Then, my former coach, Cole-Shafer Ray, introduced the idea of coaching. He sent me a thoughtful email congratulating me on my progress and encouraging me to start coaching myself. This seemed like the perfect way to keep spelling in my life and to give back to the community I held so dear to me.
I created my website and soon, requests started trickling in. My first year coaching was a little slow, I had 3 to 4 students. However, in my second and third years coaching, my schedule started to fill up. At one point, I had 15 students!
While my schedule became extremely busy, I loved every minute of it. Coaching never seemed like extra work to me since it’s my passion. It brings me immense joy to watch my students up on stage, using the knowledge I shared with them. When my students achieve their dreams, I feel accomplished as well. It’s like I’m living vicariously through them. Even when I’m not studying on my own, I’m able to contribute to the spelling community by tutoring some incredible spellers, one of whom finished seventh in the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
I take pride in my coaching style- I prioritize learning language patterns and roots over memorization, and my sessions are always very tailored. I do check-ins throughout the week to make sure that my students are on track with their study schedule, and I usually do quick 10-minute calls if my student comes across something while studying that they need my assistance with. I love to connect personally not only with the speller but also with their parents. I have a pretty close relationship with my students and their families since we are all word lovers and part of the Bee family.
I’m so lucky to be able to spread my passion to my community and keep my fire for spelling burning. Through my journey, I’ve not only built a business but also created a community.
