Scappoose-area teen readies for summer following strong showing at national spelling bee

She may not have grabbed the winner’s cup, but Scappoose-area teenager Rubina Wiedemer is ready to enjoy the summer after coming oh-so close to winning the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Wiedemer tied for 17th and made it to the semifinals , where she was eliminated in round 7 after incorrectly defining the word “shellacking.”

That said, the 14-year-old Wiedemer is ready to leave the national media spotlight and focus on a possible career as a writer.

“I thought it was a really good experience,” Wiedemer said, noting it wasn’t hard to meet other spellers at the competition, which was held outside Washington D.C. “I got to know a few of the other spellers in the competition.”

Initially, Wiedemer aimed to get through the preliminary rounds. “I knew there were lists of words that I could study for those,” she said.

Even with a lot of media attention during the event, Wiedemer was able to focus solely on the task at hand.

“I didn’t pay all that much attention to the news media,” she added.

The numerous rounds of the competition were streamed live online, with the semifinals and finals broadcast on television across the country. Now aged-out from next year’s competition, the family is reveling in the success of the young speller.

Wiedemer’s father, Matthew, said he was proud of his daughter’s accomplishment at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

“I’m really proud of her,” he said. “She did a great job. She spent a lot of time working on the vocabulary.”

Her father continued, “Her goal was to make it through the preliminary rounds, which were the first three rounds, so she doubled that … we’re just extremely proud of her.”

Matthew Wiedemer noted the national attention focused on the spelling bee was a bit overwhelming.

“It’s a little different,” he said. “It’s a bit foreign to us. We’re not really used to that kind of a thing.”

A side benefit of the event was that the younger Wiedemer was able grab an email address from one of the contestants. They hope to keep in touch.