SUPERIOR, Colo. — The Scripps National Spelling Bee is a moment years in the making for Blanche Li, who just wrapped up eighth grade in Colorado.
The event is the culmination of a dream she has held on to since fourth grade. Blanche’s living room features a trophy that started her Spelling Bee goals.
“This is the one I got in fourth grade for the 2021 regional,” Blanche said, reminiscing about her first win.
Now, her sights are set on adding a new trophy to her collection, one that would outshine them all.
“Nothing is like as invigorating as the Spelling Bee because there’s always an audience for every single word,” Blanche explained.
She is competing this week, hoping to achieve a goal that’s eluded her for years now since elementary school.
“I set it as my goal that day to win again, and I wanted to go back and actually compete in D.C.,” Blanche said. “In fifth grade, sixth grade and seventh grade, I didn’t make it out of the regional bee.”
To prepare, she practices every day with a book that shows signs of wear and tear from years of use. She showed us her process as she spelled out "diatreme," the word that helped her secure her spot at the national competition. During the bee, she said in about 90 seconds, she can demonstrate her skills. In that brief time, she can dissect a word’s root, ask for alternate meanings and reason her way to the correct spelling.
“It's like, pretty cool to show off to your peers,” Blanche said.
Blanche’s passions go beyond spelling. She plays the clarinet, piano, and saxophone, and enjoys playing frisbee.
Blanche is headed to the semi-finals, after spelling “lastage” correctly Tuesday morning.
You can watch the semi-finals tonight at 6 p.m. Mountain Time on Scripss News on streaming and on-air our sister channel, Ion Television.
