Ronito Romel wasn’t so sure he’d make it past the regional round of this month’s spelling bee competition, much less advance to state with a shot at nationals on the line.
After emerging as top speller out of Hillcrest Middle School in Glendale, the seventh grader finished just seventh out of eight spellers in the subsequent district round. He admits he “wasn’t that confident” when he got another chance at regionals.
But the savvy 12-year-old changed up his preparation and went beyond a straightforward memorization strategy.
