Melody Hinkle stood on stage, patiently awaiting the final word after 24 rounds. She started the competition spelling pudrido and had just spelled unívoca correctly. Melody was about to receive the word that would win her the National Spanish Spelling Bee.
“The word is: tácito,” the presenter said in Spanish.
The 12-year-old, a student in White Settlement ISD, took her time. She asked for the definition. She asked the presenter to use the word in a sentence. Finally, she lifted up her clipboard and spelled out the final word, including the accent on the “a.”
“Tácito,” she said. “T-Á con acento-C-I-T-O.”
The Education Lab
The room erupted in cheers. Melody had won the National Spanish Spelling Bee of 2025.
Melody Hinkle celebrating her win with other contestants and facilitators at the National Spanish Spelling Bee.(Photo courtesy of the National Spanish Spelling Bee)
Melody beat 34 contestants across the United States on July 12 in Albuquerque, N.M., for the trophy and $4,000 prize.
The seventh grader from North Texas had finished second at last year’s competition.
Still, Melody said she didn’t expect to win. She scored seventh in the state competition this year, much lower than she expected, so she said her main goal was to improve in the competition, celebrating the language she’s come to love.
Melody’s Spanish journey began in the third grade, when White Settlement ISD began offering dual-language courses.
After excelling in the program, she was chosen to compete in Spanish spelling bee competitions.
Melody said that after competing for the first time, her love of the language continued to grow. Her favorite Spanish word to spell is “hipopotomonstrosesquipedaliofobia,” which refers to the fear of long words.
“I like how [Spanish] is spelled, how it’s pronounced most of the time,” Melody said. “Whereas in English, it’s like any letter can really be silent, and usually it isn’t spelled how it’s pronounced.”
For this year’s competition, Melody had to balance dance and band practice with her spelling bee practice. She dedicated two hours a day to learning 200 to 500 new words. In total, Melody learned and memorized how to spell 4,000 Spanish words.
“I was just proud,” Melody’s mom, Amy Hinkle, said. “I mean, none of us speak Spanish at home, so it was hard for me to help her. … I can’t just go down the word list and say the word. I have to put it in Google Translate, and then whenever she spells it, she has to spell it in English, because I don’t know the letters. So it’s even harder for her to practice.”
Melody also had the help of her coach, Eva Valenzuela, the dual-language coordinator for White Settlement ISD.
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Valenzuela said that the year prior, Melody and other contestants were hit with surprise words. This left many contestants struggling. Melody’s main focus this year was to practice possible “mystery words.”
“She has an amazing little brain that is able to memorize and analyze words. And she’s really, really smart,” Valenzuela said. “[But] her success is because of her hard work.”
Valenzuela said that when other kids might have been at the zoo or the hotel pool during the trip to the competition, Melody dedicated her off time to studying. Whether it was on the plane or on the ride to the competition, she was studying.
“She put so many hours of work and dedication that that’s why she won, and she deserves it,” Valenzuela said.
Melody Hinkle posing for a photo with her family after winning the National Spanish Spelling Bee.(Photo courtesy of the National Spanish Spelling Bee)
Melody has now taken a test to qualify for Pre-AP Spanish, a high school-level course, and has put her winning funds into a college savings account.
And as for next year’s National Spanish Spelling Bee, she looks forward to returning and defending her title.