Jonathan Horton

Kavya Shivashankar wins National Spelling Bee Cool and collected, Kavya Shivashankar wrote out every word on her palm and always ended with a smile. The 13-year-old Kansas girl saved the biggest smile for last, when she rattled off the letters to "Laodicean" to become the nation's spelling champion. After six years of inhaling dictionaries word by word, memorizing their meanings, studying their roots and perfecting their pronunciations, she bested 292 competitors and aced 40 words to capture a prize that has eluded her in three previous final appearances. “It’s been my dream for so long, I just can’t believe it’s actually happened,” Kavya said ... Read Full Story

Less than 50 young spellers have advanced to the final day of competition of the national bee. Forty-one of the record 293 spellers survived the preliminary rounds Wednesday and will compete in the semifinals starting Thursday morning. The finals of the 82nd Scripps National Spelling Bee take place Thursday night. The winner gets more than $40,000 in cash and prizes. The competition began Tuesday with a written test. That score was combined with Wednesday's oral rounds to produce the semifinalists. The first oral round was a breeze — with words such as "lyric" and "custard." The second round became a little more difficult. Some ... Read Full Story

Kavya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas won the Scripps National Spelling Bee May 28, 2009. The word that helped her seal the victory? “Laodicean”. Kavya, an adorable 13-year-old from Kansas City, has been making the rounds on national tv since she won Thursday night, enjoying her new found fame. According the the Miami Herald, the young spelling whiz’s mom states that her daughter“… isn’t even sure that she did something great. She is good. She carries herself so well.” Proving she has a handle on kindness in competitive environments, Kavya is quoted by the AP as saying, “There are so many good spellers. But there’s ... Read Full Story

Name: Kavya Shivashankar Age: 13 Hails from: Olathe, Kansas Occupation: Spelling Bee Champ Known for: Correctly spelling "Laodicean" --meaning: lukewarm or indifferent, particularly in matters of religion or politics--to clinch the 82nd Scripps National Spelling Bee last week. Being a Hardass Asian Parents' Ultimate Wet Dream--watch Kavya's interview with the Chenbot where she describes how she juggled training for the spelling bee with a busy schedule of homework, practicing the violin, and learning Indian dance, and how her future plans include going to "a good medical school." Damn, Kavya, do you know how proud you've made your parents? Wait, what are we saying? Of ... Read Full Story

Trophy news from the 82nd annual bee Spelling Bee Trophies The 4th time was a charm for new spelling bee champion Televised in prime time, last night the 82 nd annual bee (Scripps National Spelling Bee) had a record number of participants with 293 hopeful competitors. 13-year-old Kavya Shivashankar correctly spelled ‘Laodicean’ to win the bee. She raised high her champion trophy with a shy smile. As it turns out the 4 th time was the charm for Kavya, who had competed in the last three National Spelling Bees (finishing 10 th , 8 th and 4 th consecutively). She out-spelled her competition, including ... Read Full Story