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Kavya Shivashankar

Kavya Shivashankar from Olathe, Kansas is the eighth Indian kid to win the Spelling Bee.

She’s 13 years old, in 8th grade, enjoys practicing her violin, bicycling, swimming, and learning Indian classical dance. She looks forward to becoming a neurosurgeon.

Kavya spelt the word “laodicean” — which means indifferent or lukewarm especially in matters of religion — to claim the title after her only remaining American opponent Tim Ruiter flubbed “Maecenas,” which means a generous benefactor.

According to a report in the Times of India, some eleven million American schoolkids participated in the US  National Spelling Bee championships this year, and when the final 293 made the cut, there were 32 kids of Indian origin. Read the full story here:

And the words she got right:

1 Round One Test
4 ergasia
5 kurta
6 escritoire
7 hydrargyrum
8 blancmange
9 baignoire
10 huisache
11 ecossaise
12 diacoele
13 bouquiniste
14 isagoge
15 phoresy
16 Laodicean

Here’s the link if you want to know more about the other contestants:

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