There was a big welcome home party at DFW Airport Wednesday afternoon. Fresh off a whirlwind media tour, Plano ISD middle schooler Faizan Zaki returned as the newly named Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion.
In Terminal E at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, there was a buzz in the air on Wednesday afternoon.
A crowd grew outside the baggage claim doors, armed with balloons and signs. Cameras locked on the doors could’ve been mistaken for celebrity gawkers.
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WATCH HEREBut in this case, they were waiting for a C-H-A-M-P-I-O-N, the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee winner, 13-year-old Faizan Zaki.
“I’m still trying to soak it in, the fact that I won,” said Zaki as he was embraced by friends, teachers and members of the Dallas Sports Commission.
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SIGN UP Last Thursday, in the final round of competition, the Plano ISD seventh grader rushed to spell "éclaircissement," which means the clearing up of something obscure.
“At the end of the word, you could hear I was gasping for air on the last couple of letters,” he said.
He said he was overwhelmed with relief.
After seven years of training, multiple years at the national bee and a second-place finish last year, Zaki accomplished the thing he’d worked for relentlessly.
"It’s like a very intense studying routine. So every day, on school days when I get home from school, I study for five or six hours. And then on weekends, when I don’t have school, seven to eight,” said Zaki.
“It’s incredible the amount of work he put in,” said his father, Zaki Anwar.
Anwar and his wife, Arshia Quadri, would often sit with Zaki as he studied until 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. They said he was driven by a love for words and eventually an addiction to winning after falling one word short in 2024.
Now, they only hope their prodigy teen can find a sense of normalcy.
“We would like him to take a break. I mean, he’s been doing it for seven years now. He’s 13, so that’s more than half of his life. I would let him do whatever he wants,” said Anwar.
“Hang out with his friends,” added Quadri.
The Dallas Sports Commission partners with Scripps to host the regional competition that qualified Zaki.
“We’ve been rooting him on for years,” said Vice President Andrew Dockrill.
The program has grown from sending one local speller to the national competition to three. Dockrill said Zaki’s win will serve as an inspiration for other North Texans to know it’s possible to win.
“Especially in an area where we’re known for football, baseball, basketball, hey, we’re spellers here, too, in our neck of the woods,” he said.
Zaki walked away with a $50,000 grand prize and several other gifts. He said he planned to donate a portion of his winnings to nonprofits that help children in India.
