P
ersistence finally paid off
for 13-year-old Kavya
Shivashankar, the 2009
champion of the 82nd
annual Scripps National Spelling
Bee. The unassuming teen from
Olathe, Kan., has been a threetime
Top 10 finisher in the contest
since 2006; last year, she
placed fourth. This year she
became the ninth Indian
American to win the bee.
Shivashankar was among 11
finalists at the contest that started
out with 293 spellers – the
largest number in its history. The
tension was palpable at the
Grand Hyatt in Washington,
D.C., May 28 when only three
contestants remained:
Shivashankar, Aishwayra
Pastapur of Springfield, Ill., and
Tim Ruiter from Reston, Va.
Pastapur, the first of the three
to be knocked out, misspelled
"menhir" and departed teary
eyed. She will receive $7,500 in
prize money. Ruiter misspelled
"maecenas," but remained calm.
He will receive $12,500.
Then all the attention was
focused on Shivashankar. The
aspiring neurosurgeon spelled
"Laodician" correctly for the win.
Within seconds she was being
hugged by her parents and
younger sister. Like her mother,
Shivashankar grew teary-eyed as
she accepted the trophy.
Throughout the contest,
Shivashankar remained cool,
sometimes even smiling slightly,
as she tackled the tough words,
asking repeatedly for the "roots,"
then pausing to scribble on her
hand with her finger before
spelling them out. Apart from
the trophy and bragging rights,
Shivashankar will receive more
that $37,000 in cash, bonds and
scholarships.
She names Nupur Lala, the
1999 Scripps National Spelling
Bee champion who was featured
in the documentary
"Spellbound," as her role model
and the inspiration for her
spelling career. Spelling is not
Shivashankar's only interest,
though – she enjoys practicing
violin, bicycling, swimming and
learning Indian classical dance.
While the outcome could not
have been more perfect for
Shivashankar, for some of the six
other Indian-American finalists
it was not what they had hoped
for. Sidharth Chand of
Bloomfield Hills, Mich., who was
last year's runner-up and considered
a favorite for this year's title,
was ousted earlier on during the
finals after he stumbled on
"apodeiterium." He buried his
head in his hands for about a
minute after he took his seat
next to his parents, while the
audience and other spellers gave
him a standing ovation. Another
Indian-American contestant,
Tussah Heera of Las Vegas, was
ousted after misspelling
"herniorrhaphy." The only
speller to hear the telltale bell in
the first championship round
Heera took a seat in her mother's
lap and wiped away tears.
Jill Biden, wife of Vice
President Joe Biden, kicked off
the championship by telling the
audience she had to drop out of
a sixth-grade spelling contest.
As the 11 contestants walked
on the stage, they were greeted
with a standing ovation. They
were seated on one side of the
stage while family members sat
on the other side watching as
each came on and spelled out
their word, often exulting when
they got it right. Such gestures
offered some of the lighter
moments of the contest.
For instance, Neetu Chandak
of Seneca Falls, N.Y., spelled out
"ophelimity" but was clearly
unsure if she had got it right.
"Yes!" she exclaimed and
pumped her arms when told it
was correct. Pastapur, the thirdplace
finisher, also exulted on
getting her spellings right.
In the end, however, it was
Shivashankar's night.
P
ersistence finally paid off
for 13-year-old Kavya
Shivashankar, the 2009
champion of the 82nd
annual Scripps National Spelling
Bee. The unassuming teen from
Olathe, Kan., has been a threetime
Top 10 finisher in the contest
since 2006; last year, she
placed fourth. This year she
became the ninth Indian
American to win the bee.
Shivashankar was among 11
finalists at the contest that started
out with 293 spellers – the
largest number in its history. The
tension was palpable at the
Grand Hyatt in Washington,
D.C., May 28 when only three
contestants remained:
Shivashankar, Aishwayra
Pastapur of Springfield, Ill., and
Tim Ruiter from Reston, Va.
Pastapur, the first of the three
to be knocked out, misspelled
"menhir" and departed teary
eyed. She will receive $7,500 in
prize money. Ruiter misspelled
"maecenas," but remained calm.
He will receive $12,500.
Then all the attention was
focused on Shivashankar. The
aspiring neurosurgeon spelled
"Laodician" correctly for the win.
Within seconds she was being
hugged by her parents and
younger sister. Like her mother,
Shivashankar grew teary-eyed as
she accepted the trophy.
Throughout the contest,
Shivashankar remained cool,
sometimes even smiling slightly,
as she tackled the tough words,
asking repeatedly for the "roots,"
then pausing to scribble on her
hand with her finger before
spelling them out. Apart from
the trophy and bragging rights,
Shivashankar will receive more
that $37,000 in cash, bonds and
scholarships.
She names Nupur Lala, the
1999 Scripps National Spelling
Bee champion who was featured
in the documentary
"Spellbound," as her role model
and the inspiration for her
spelling career. Spelling is not
Shivashankar's only interest,
though – she enjoys practicing
violin, bicycling, swimming and
learning Indian classical dance.
While the outcome could not
have been more perfect for
Shivashankar, for some of the six
other Indian-American finalists
it was not what they had hoped
for. Sidharth Chand of
Bloomfield Hills, Mich., who was
last year's runner-up and considered
a favorite for this year's title,
was ousted earlier on during the
finals after he stumbled on
"apodeiterium." He buried his
head in his hands for about a
minute after he took his seat
next to his parents, while the
audience and other spellers gave
him a standing ovation. Another
Indian-American contestant,
Tussah Heera of Las Vegas, was
ousted after misspelling
"herniorrhaphy." The only
speller to hear the telltale bell in
the first championship round
Heera took a seat in her mother's
lap and wiped away tears.
Jill Biden, wife of Vice
President Joe Biden, kicked off
the championship by telling the
audience she had to drop out of
a sixth-grade spelling contest.
As the 11 contestants walked
on the stage, they were greeted
with a standing ovation. They
were seated on one side of the
stage while family members sat
on the other side watching as
each came on and spelled out
their word, often exulting when
they got it right. Such gestures
offered some of the lighter
moments of the contest.
For instance, Neetu Chandak
of Seneca Falls, N.Y., spelled out
"ophelimity" but was clearly
unsure if she had got it right.
"Yes!" she exclaimed and
pumped her arms when told it
was correct. Pastapur, the thirdplace
finisher, also exulted on
getting her spellings right.
In the end, however, it was
Shivashankar's night.