Rio Rancho teen prepares for second national spelling bee in two years

RIO RANCHO — A local teen will try a second time to become the nation’s top speller when he competes with his peers in the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee later this month.

Keith Lee, an eighth grader attending Albuquerque Academy, is set to travel to National Harbor, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C., for the competition, now in its 100th year, from May 27-29. He is able to participate, having won the New Mexico Spelling Bee March 29.

Lee admits he spent some time relaxing following the state bee, but he is not one who often looks back.

“I like to think forward and not get stuck too much on one thing because that helps me focus,” Lee said. “It helps me set goals, which I realize have helped me prepare a lot for these competitions.”

Lee made it to the quarter-finals but dropped out in 74th place during the 2023 national bee. He misspelled “cathetometer,” a scope-like tool for measuring distances.

“I’m over that now,” Lee said.

His goals in preparing for the 2025 national bee include becoming “fluent” in the list of words provided by Scripps ahead of the competition. But Lee also wants to be prepared for the unexpected words provided from the dictionary that he and other spellers will have to spell if they qualify for the upper rounds.

“That’s what makes the Spelling Bee fun and different every time,” Lee said. “You don’t know exactly what to expect.”

Aside from researching and memorizing as many words as possible, Lee hopes he can “focus on what I know and what I can do and not get distracted by other people” throughout the national Bee.

In a prepared statement, Corrie Loeffler, executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, said her organization looks forward to welcoming Lee back to the bee during its milestone centennial anniversary.

“We wish him and his fellow spellers the best of luck during the competition — and the best of fun as they take in all Bee Week has to offer,” Loeffler wrote.

Lee’s mother, Yi-Hsuan Chang, and sister, Sheryl, a sixth grader at the Academy, will travel with Lee to the nation’s capital. While they believe in his spelling abilities, watching him compete in front of so many people can be nerve-wracking.

“I think every parent has the same feeling: nervous,” Chang said.

Watching her son a second time won’t make it easier to calm those nerves, she said with a laugh.

Sheryl called it “scary” to watch the national bee and see if her brother will get eliminated from the competition. But she is impressed with his spelling abilities.

When he’s not spelling words, Lee is building his civics knowledge. He won the regional qualifier at National Civics Bee in April for his essay on how to fix the state education system. He looks forward to participating in the state finals in the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce in Albuquerque on June 7.

Lee confesses he does not like being this busy, staring down the barrel of two national competitions. But he knows the value of it all.

“To succeed and meet your goals in life, you’ve always got to work hard in life and know that no one is going to do anything for you,” Lee said.