Engineering solutions, one clue at a time
For Spencer Leach ’25, problem-solving has always been at the heart of his work. Trained as a mechanical engineer, Leach spends his professional life tackling complex technical challenges. In his free time, he turns that skill set toward a different kind of problem: crafting crossword puzzles.
Leach has had puzzles published in The New York Times — an achievement widely regarded as a milestone within the crossword community.
“My parents got me into crosswords,” Leach said. “They would always try to involve me in the Sunday puzzle whenever there was some sort of Pokémon or video game clue. And then I got really into it during my first year at Virginia Tech. It was a way to escape from the stress of school, and it’s just fun.”
As his appreciation for solving puzzles evolved, Leach grew more and more curious about how puzzles were constructed — a natural extension of his engineering mindset. That curiosity led him to The New York Times, where he learned that the newspaper accepts open crossword submissions. Leach began constructing puzzles of his own, learning through trial and error.
“I got a lot of rejections,” Leach said. “I tried over and over, and eventually I got my first acceptance in November of my sophomore year.” Since that first publication, Leach has continued submitting puzzles and has seen several more selected. Each puzzle takes about 20 hours to complete, and once submitted, it can take three to eight months to receive a decision.
His parents, who first introduced him to crosswords, now serve as trusted test solvers for his work.
Professionally, Leach is employed by The Boring Company, where he works as a tunnel engineer on the Vegas Loop Shuttle project in Las Vegas, Nevada. The role grew out of an internship opportunity and now has him spending about 12 hours a day underground.
“I don’t think that as a student I ever thought that I might be working in tunnels and overseeing digging equipment, but engineers are everywhere,” Leach said.
He encourages students to use internships to explore unfamiliar roles.
“Internships offer chances to dip your toes into different roles to learn more about what’s out there and what positions appeal to your skills and career goals,” Leach said. “Sometimes you find a fit in an unexpected area.”
For Leach, the satisfaction he finds in engineering mirrors what draws him to crossword construction: working independently toward a result that others can enjoy.
“I guess one thing I really like about crosswords is that you’re doing your own thing, but at the same time, the end goal is to really just provide fun to as many people as possible,” Leach said. “If I can just put my skill set into helping other people, I would consider that a huge win.”