Zeeshan Anower is a 7th-grade student in Fort Smith ’ s Chaffin Middle School who has a plan to w-i-n his way to the 2025 National Spelling Bee . This is a very high goal , but he loves to challenge himself . And , he has won his way to the national contest before !

In 2023 , his first year to enter , he won his elementary school spelling bee , the Sebastian County contest and then , the Arkansas state spelling bee . This allowed him to go to Washington , DC for the huge contest between the best spellers in the whole country . An incorrect answer put him out in an early round , but Zeeshan is still very proud to have reached the national level .

It is impressive ! He was 10 years old then and in the 5th grade . There is no lower age limit for spellers and they may enter up to their 8th grade year or age 15 .

In that amazing first state championship that sent him to nationals , Zeeshan and Matt Brodbent of Cross County , then aged 12 , remained tied for 22 rounds , spelling correctly for more than 40 nerve-wracking minutes !

On short breaks backstage , both guys admitted they were nervous and were friendly to each other . Zeeshan gives his true respect to such opponents at every level . “ He is one of the greatest I have ever seen ,” he said admiringly of Matt .

The judges then gave Matt and Zeeshan a tie-breaking , written spelling test . “ That was honestly very surprising ,” Zeeshan said . Zeeshan won by correctly spelling one more word than Matt .

In 2024 , he placed second in the state contest , behind Ryan Minjrui Fan of Fayetteville , who was then 11 . These experiences showed that a speller ’ s age does not determine who will win . Zeeshan also gave compliments to Ryan . “ He ’ s also one of the greatest spellers this state will ever have . He definitely deserved the win .” Fan will be advancing to 2025 ’ s state contest where Zeeshan hopes to compete again . Zeeshan must win the Sebastian County Spelling Bee in February to advance to state .

It is exciting and fun to be among other top spellers , Zeeshan noted . “ I felt like I was in a room with my exact clones ,” he observed of his Washington DC experience . He really understands how many hours each of them , like him , had devoted to studying words .

To spell at his best , Zeeshan said , he must concentrate on his preparation . Each year the bee sponsor and inventor of the contest , the Scripps media company , provides a list of the words that could be used in the bee – about 4,000 words . How can one brain learn them all ?

“ Study , study , study !” he repeated . It is a good thing he enjoys studying solo and makes sure he works through a certain amount of word lists every day . He uses two strategies : he memorizes each spelling word , without much considering its language of origin or meaning – only the correct spelling .

To make sure he does not rush to answer too quickly , Zeeshan has added another step that is perhaps unique among competitors . He uses American Sign Language to spell out each letter with his hands as he speaks . “ It helps to pace me ,” he said . Zeeshan learned to sign for this purpose and to quiet his nervousness and stress .

He also follows the coaching advice of his mother : “ It ’ s only you and the judge ,” she tells him . He focuses on listening to the official pronouncer and keeps his mind tuned only on the word – not on how his opponents may be doing , or the audience or any other distraction .

Zeeshan deeply appreciates his mother ’ s support for his spelling quest and everything else she does to care for their family . His father is also very encouraging , he said .

Because 2025 is the 100th year of the Scripps Spelling Bee , it will be special . Zeeshan has noticed that within the contest ’ s word lists , there are a lot of homonyms . Homonyms may be words with identical pronunciations but different spellings and meanings , such as to , too , and two . A speller may ask for the definition of such words to carefully choose the right word for their answer .

In the national bee , there are also vocabulary rounds where the competitor must know the definition of words . He is strengthening his vocabulary skills during practice for the 2025 bee by attempting to memorize 4,000 word definitions along with their spelling .

At his prior competition at nationals , it was during a vocabulary question that Zeeshan said “ I secondguessed myself and got the

6 • February 2025 • www . OfficialKidsMag . com