The word “laodicean” is bound to carry a lot of significance in the life of American Indian student Kavya Shivashankar.
That was the word the 13-year-old student from Olathe, Kansas, spelt correctly to become the winner of the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee 2009 final recently.
The victory was Kavya’s fourth attempt at the national spelling championships, after having finished 10th, eighth and fourth over the past three years.
The budding neurosurgeon won US$40,000 in cash and prizes. Kavya’s family is originally from India.
"I can't believe it happened," Kavya said. "It feels kind of unreal."
After spelling the winning word, which means lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics, Kavya got huge hugs from father Mirle, mother Sandy and little sister Vanya.
"The competitiveness is in her," Mirle Shivashankar said. "But she doesn't show that. She still has that smile. That's her quality."
Kavya won in her fourth appearance at the bee, having finished 10th, eighth and fourth over the past three years. She enjoys playing the violin, bicycling, swimming and learning Indian classical dance, and her role model is Nupur Lala, the 1999 champion featured in the documentary Spellbound.
"This is the moment we've been waiting for; it's a dream come true," Mirle said. "We haven't skipped meals, we haven't lost sleep, but we've skipped a lot of social time."
In earlier rounds Kavya, a student at California Trail Junior High School, effortlessly rattled off seemingly challenging words like “hydrargyrum,” “blancmange” and “baignoire.”
The championships were held in the ballroom of the Grand Hyatt in Washington DC, with a calm and collected Kavya beating 11 other students who had all made it through a gruelling series of state-wide and regional competitions to reach the final.
This year’s event was the 82nd, making the Scripps National Spelling Bee America’s largest and longest-running educational promotion. The event was broadcast live on the ABC television network with Emmy Award-winner Tom Bergeron hosting the 16-round final.
Other words finalists were asked to spell include: antonomasia, bouquiniste, oriflamme, guayabera, isagoge and sophrosyne, phoresy, menhir, maecenas, ophelimity, diacoele and reredos.
The word “laodicean” is bound to carry a lot of significance in the life of American Indian student Kavya Shivashankar.That was the word the 13-year-old student from Olathe, Kansas, spelt correctly to become the winner of the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee 2009 final recently.The victory...
The word “laodicean” is bound to carry a lot of significance in the life of American Indian student Kavya Shivashankar.
That was the word the 13-year-old student from Olathe, Kansas, spelt correctly to become the winner of the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee 2009 final recently.
The victory was Kavya’s fourth attempt at the national spelling championships, after having finished 10th, eighth and fourth over the past three years.
The budding neurosurgeon won US$40,000 in cash and prizes. Kavya’s family is originally from India.
"I can't believe it happened," Kavya said. "It feels kind of unreal."
After spelling the winning word, which means lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics, Kavya got huge hugs from father Mirle, mother Sandy and little sister Vanya.
"The competitiveness is in her," Mirle Shivashankar said. "But she doesn't show that. She still has that smile. That's her quality."
Kavya won in her fourth appearance at the bee, having finished 10th, eighth and fourth over the past three years. She enjoys playing the violin, bicycling, swimming and learning Indian classical dance, and her role model is Nupur Lala, the 1999 champion featured in the documentary Spellbound.
"This is the moment we've been waiting for; it's a dream come true," Mirle said. "We haven't skipped meals, we haven't lost sleep, but we've skipped a lot of social time."
In earlier rounds Kavya, a student at California Trail Junior High School, effortlessly rattled off seemingly challenging words like “hydrargyrum,” “blancmange” and “baignoire.”
The championships were held in the ballroom of the Grand Hyatt in Washington DC, with a calm and collected Kavya beating 11 other students who had all made it through a gruelling series of state-wide and regional competitions to reach the final.
This year’s event was the 82nd, making the Scripps National Spelling Bee America’s largest and longest-running educational promotion. The event was broadcast live on the ABC television network with Emmy Award-winner Tom Bergeron hosting the 16-round final.
Other words finalists were asked to spell include: antonomasia, bouquiniste, oriflamme, guayabera, isagoge and sophrosyne, phoresy, menhir, maecenas, ophelimity, diacoele and reredos.
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