Siqi Fang has proven to know quite a few vocabulary words.
After winning in her school's spelling bee, this graduating Hanahan Middle eighth grader went on to dominate in the Berkeley County School District spelling bee. She then took on the regional bee.
Now this wordsmith student is preparing for an even bigger stage in National Harbor, Maryland at the end of the month to compete against more than 200 students from around the United States vying for the title of the country’s best speller.
This is the first time BCSD will be represented in the Scripps National Spelling Bee since 2017.
Avid speller
Fang previously qualified for the 2022 BCSD spelling bee, but fumbled over “silver” in the first round – a mistake Fang chalked up to nerves.
She took the stage again this year with a major comeback, claiming first place after successfully spelling “regurgitate” and “retinol.” Subsequently, she secured a spot in the regional spelling bee known as SpellBound!, held in March at Charleston Southern University. The top nine spellers from the district bee qualified for the event.
Fang went up against 29 local students in more than 10 rounds of spelling.
“During the district bee I was thinking, ‘Top Nine, Top Nine,’” Fang said. “At the regional one, I was like, ‘Just get as far as you can go.’”
Joining her in the crowd inside of Lightsey Chapel were her family members, plus “a whole cheering section” of Hanahan Middle and BCSD staff members who came to show their support.
“I’m really glad that they came,” Fang said.
Among the faces in the crowd was Hanahan Middle instructional coach Kacy Holland, who jotted down the words Fang successfully spelt during the competition; “trepanation,” “rollicking” and “quiddity” were among some of the words thrown at her.
Holland never had Fang as a student during the latter’s time in middle school, but she did help coordinate Fang’s participation in the 2022 and 2023 district spelling bees.
“She’s been a pleasure to work with the past two years,” Holland said. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know her on that level.”
Fang typically tries to “write” out the word on her hand as she spells to help her recite them aloud – a common method among spelling bee participants. The pronouncer in the bee can also respond to spellers’ requests for a word to be repeated, a definition, sentence, part of speech, language of origin or alternate pronunciation.
After successfully spelling “epenthesis” and then “ferruginous,” Fang officially became known as the Lowcountry’s best speller for 2023, and will be one of three students from the state to take the stage at nationals.
Getting prepared
The Post and Courier is covering the cost of her trip to the national bee, which will take place at Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Maryland. Fang will travel to the national bee with her parents, Cui He and Ji Fang, and younger sister Zilin.
The national competition will begin with the Preliminaries on Tuesday, May 30, and conclude with the Finals on Thursday, June 1. Check out how to watch the bee.
Fang has studied hard for her recent spelling bee conquests, reading over all of the words and learning their definitions for good measure. Her mother would quiz her on the words when she was able to and Fang utilizes a Scripps spelling app to help her out, too. Fang finds that setting short-term goals to focus on studying has ultimately helped her be successful.
Fang is both nervous and excited about the national event, particularly after reading over words that were given in previous national spelling bees. Harini Logan, then a 14-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, won the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee in the competition’s first-ever spell-off, with the winning word being “moorhen.”
Fang said she still has a good bit of studying to do.
“There’s a lot of words I have not learned yet,” she said.
While she may feel that way, her Hanahan Middle family will be supporting her back in South Carolina, and they have a lot of faith in her.
“We are proud of her regardless,” Holland said. “She’s a winner in our book, no matter what happens at nationals.”
Next adventure
As a graduating eighth-grader, this is Fang’s last year participating in school-level spelling bees, and it is a somewhat bittersweet feeling.
“Now I’m thinking…how am I going to leave my mark in my ninth-grade year?” she said.
However, Fang has a lot to look forward to at Hanahan High. She is an active band student and is particularly excited about participating in marching band and playing more challenging music. She plays both the clarinet and piano.
Fang enjoys school, so she is also excited about taking more advanced classes in general. She has ambitions to pursue a career that combines both computer science and art – possibly video game design.
The caveat to starting this new chapter means having to bid farewell to her teachers at Hanahan Middle.
“I’m really happy that all my friends, family and teachers have been there for me,” she said. “It’s made it more fun. I’m going to miss this school.”