Juan Rondeau ‘27 Competes at Scripps National Spelling Bee for Three Consecutive Years

Mary being the only other grandchild to have also worked at Westminster.

“Mom was a teacher when she graduated from college, and even my grandfather was a teacher for a brief time before he became a businessman. A love for education and a desire to support Christian education, in particular, is part of my family’s DNA.”

The last few years of Kari’s career at Westminster were spent as a permanent full-time substitute. She had hoped most of her time would be spent in the middle and high school because that was most familiar to her, but as God would have it, she spent most of her first year subbing in the elementary school.

“My first week I had to sub for a first-grade teacher,” said Kari. “I said ‘Oh Lord, what have you’ve gotten me into’ but I miraculously survived. I was in awe of how the elementary teachers bring the Lord into their lessons, how they love those kids, and what they teach them – it was a real eye-opener for me.”

She was looking forward to continuing in this role when her dad’s health began to fail, and she knew it wouldn’t be much longer before he went home to be with the Lord. Kari is the main caregiver for her parents, and she prayed for weeks to know if it was time for her to retire. She felt an incredible peace about the decision.

“I was very thankful that the school had given me the opportunity to be in the role of a permanent substitute. It made it so much easier to make a difficult decision knowing that I wasn’t a classroom teacher whose role would need to be immediately filled.”

God’s plan for Kari right now is to care for her mom. In the future, she would like to travel around the United States with her sister, Ruth, who shares her love for hiking and biking. Further down the road, she and her sister would like to split their time between the Colorado mountains and the West Coast of Florida.

“Only God knows what the future has in store,” said Kari.

She is grateful for what God has done at and through Westminster and is impressed with the vision of the school moving forward.

“The foundation of Westminster has not changed, and God has provided men and women to continue the work of creating ambassadors for Christ that my grandfather began,” said Kari. “For that I am very grateful.”

At 14 years old, Juan Rondeau ‘27 boasts three first-place trophies from the annual Miami Herald Spelling Bee. Juan secured the 2023 title and his third consecutive win after 14 grueling rounds. He spelled the word “ramage,” meaning the boughs or branches of a tree, successfully at this year ’s competition held in Pembroke Pines, FL. A celebration subsequently ensued filled with streamers, photographers and yet another shiny, first-place trophy. He would soon be heading to the Scripps National Spelling Bee near Washington D.C. to represent Miami-Dade County and Westminster.

In 2021, Juan tied for 139th place at the national competition and in 2022 he tied for 49th place. This year, he made it to the semifinals and placed 22nd. Juan was also invited to speak at this year’s opening ceremonies, which aired live on ION. It was a memorable way to close out his Scripps run, as students age out after the eighth grade.

“I have enjoyed the challenge of competing and learning different words with origins from all over the world. I love learning foreign words and improving my ability to spell in English,” said Juan.

Born in Argentina, Juan and his family arrived to the United States when he was eight years old. In third grade, he began competing in spelling bees.

“He has loved competing in spelling bees and was always so excited and proud to represent Miami-Dade and Westminster at the national competition,” said Carolina Rossi Viz, Juan’s mother.

When asked what he has been most thankful for during this journey, Juan replied, “The spelling bee is very challenging and requires a lot of studying as well. I would like to thank my parents for supporting me and helping me study.”