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About Me...
My name is Grace Walters. I am 21 years old and a recent graduate of Rice University in Houston, Texas. I have been involved with spelling bees and the spelling community for thirteen years. I began coaching after I aged out of the bee in 2015. With five years of spelling and eight years of coaching behind me, I have gained the experience necessary to help spellers succeed in today’s grueling bees.
I became interested in spelling
at seven years old.
My teacher pointed out to my mother that my spelling test scores were consistently perfect or near perfect, and she expressed her interest in entering me in a spelling competition. However, I attended a private school that was registered in the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), and the ACSI spelling bee was for grades 3-8. So, the following year, I competed in my district ACSI bee. I missed the word ‘feint’ that year by spelling its homonym, but that did not stop me. I came back and won the fourth grade district bee the next year.
I continued to compete in the ACSI league through all my years of spelling, winning my district spell-off three years in a row, taking the gold at the south-central regionals twice, and placing second at nationals two years in a row. My school did not register for the Scripps spelling bee until I was in the eighth grade, but I had always been a huge fan. I watched the bees on TV, I recorded the words, and I played along and tried to spell with the contestants. When I finally got the chance to compete in Scripps, I was met with the incredibly difficult and fiercely competitive Houston region. I placed second at my district bee to Scripps national finalist Shobha Dasari, falling just short of the regional bee.
Since the end of my spelling career, I have coached seventeen spellers, including 2022 Scripps National Champion Harini Logan, 2018 Scripps National Champion Karthik Nemmani, 2019 Scripps National Octochamps Saketh Sundar, Sohum Sukhatankar, and Rohan Raja, and 2017 Scripps National runner-up Rohan Rajeev. Through all my experience as a speller and as a coach, I have gathered knowledge and insight into how to prepare efficiently and thoroughly for the spelling bee. My goal as a coach is to incite in my students a love for and understanding of the English language, and to help them reach their goals of spelling success.
Accomplishments
6th grade
ACSI district grade bee: 2nd place, advanced to championship
ACSI district: 1st place
ACSI regionals: 1st place
ACSI nationals: 23rd place
7th grade
ACSI district grade bee: 1st place, advanced to championship
ACSI district: 1st place
ACSI regionals: 3rd place
ACSI nationals: 2nd place
8th grade
ACSI district grade bee: 1st place, co-champion after 69 rounds, advanced to championship
ACSI district: champion: 1st
ACSI regionals: 1st place
ACSI nationals: 2nd place
Scripps district: 2nd place
9th grade
TAPPS invitational meet:
1st place spelling
TAPPS state academic meet:
2A state spelling champion
10th grade
TAPPS invitational meet:
1st place spelling
TAPPS state academic meet:
2A state spelling champion
11th grade
TAPPS invitational meet:
1st place spelling
TAPPS state academic meet:
2A state spelling champion
12th grade
TAPPS invitational meet:
1st place spelling
TAPPS state academic meet:
2A state spelling champion
Coaching
2020 Canada-USA Spelling Bee Online Champion Vayun Krishna
2020 North South Foundation Senior Spelling Bee National Champion Vayun Krishna
2020 Spell Pundit Online National Champion Navneeth Murali
Coaching
2023 Scripps National Third Place Surya Kapu
2022 Scripps National Champion Harini Logan
2019 Scripps National Champion Saketh Sundar
2019 Scripps National Champion Sohum Sukhatankar
2019 Scripps National Champion Rohan Raja
2018 Scripps National Champion Karthik Nemmani
2017 Scripps National First Runner-up Rohan Rajeev
2016 ACSI National Champion Rohan Rajeev