Dr. Scott Isaacs:

    1989 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion

     Scott’s story began at a shopping mall in Englewood, CO in September of 1983 . His second grade teacher, Mrs. Zen, mentioned to his parents that he was unusually gifted with a great spelling ability. So one day Scott and his parents found a spelling bee competition at a shopping mall. He enrolled and won his first spelling bee with the word “population,” and just like that he was hooked.

     Winning the 1989 National Spelling Bee was the most exciting, and thrilling moment of Scott’s life . After the hours of painstaking, diligent studying and a little bit of luck, it finally paid off for Scott.

     Since the 1989 win, Scott has been involved with spelling bees in many ways. He’s been a judge, a pronouncer, an escort for spellers who have missed their word, a guest speaker, a written test grader, a coach, and even a press representative for USA Today, covering the 1990 National Spelling Bee . He then worked on the staff for the National Spelling Bee for a few years in the mid-1990s. The only job Scott didn’t want to have is as a bell-ringer in competitions.

     When Scott left the bee staff, he still enjoyed watching the competition each year. He would continue to test himself against the new set of words. He enjoyed the thrill of seeing spellers get words right, while commiserating with those who missed . The bee is a big part of Scott’s life. He finds the English language fascinating, and he was hooked from the beginning after winning his first bee with the word “population.” He hopes to share his experience with many students in the future.

Email: info@canadaspellingbee.com

Phone Number: 613-422-6688

Sriram Hathwar:

    2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion

     When Sriram was just eight years old, he was the youngest speller to reach the Scripps National Spelling Bee. In 2014, he was an eighth grader just on the verge of his final year of eligibility. He spent hours learning the basics.

     When Sriram first made it to the National Bee, he was a second grader, competing against kids six and seven years older than him. Sriram trained with his coaches, his biggest supporters, and that would of course be his very own mom and dad. He began studying at the start of elementary school, and continued every sing day. Sriram would read the dictionary and books to help him find new words and meanings to build his vocabulary.

     After winning the National Bee, Sriram had to retire from spelling. But, the thirst for competition was still within him. Sriram competed in Geography Bee and Math Counts. He wasn’t so much competitive, as he was mostly seeking a thirst for knowledge.

    

Email: info@canadaspellingbee.com

Phone Number: 613-422-6688

Grace Walters:

    2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion Coach

     To help prepare the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee winner, Karthik Nemmani, 2018 Champion coach, Grace Walters coached Nemmani on language patterns and etymologies (the roots and histories of words). Grace created her accurate lists of roots and word categories based on what was most likely to appear in the Scripps bee, based on past competitions . She quizzed her spelling mentee and helped him with words he got wrong and praised him for words he got right. Nemmani honed his question routine, asking for a definition, language of origin, alternate pronunciation, and part of speech before spelling each word.

     Grace knows that the main thing is dedication; spellers have to want it and want to work for it. She was head over heels when Nemmani won. As a first time spelling coach, she was without words.

     In more recent years, the competition has become more difficult because of study materials and spelling resources.

     When Grace was a speller, social events and sports had to go on the sidelines, it does require a lot of sacrifices to become a champion coach. But, seeing all of her efforts come to fruition, and helping her mentee become the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion, it was totally worth it.

Email: info@canadaspellingbee.com

Phone Number: 613-422-6688