Kansas Eighth Grader Wins National Spelling Bee

Photo of winner Kavya Shivashankar by Jeff Martin

Written by DCist contributor Elisabeth Meinecke

Can You Spell L-a-o-d-i-c-e-a-n?

That’s the word that won Kavya Shivashankar, a 13-year-old eighth grader from Olathe, Kansas, $30,000 (among other goodies) Thursday at the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee. In her fourth appearance at The Bee, Kavya beat out ten other spelling gurus in Thursday’s finals to become 2009 Champion. Tim Ruiter, the youngest of the finalists at age 12, came in second.

As if it wasn’t paralyzing enough spelling words like "phoresy" and "psittacosis" into a microphone, the 11 finalists had the added pressure of competing in front of the Vice President’s wife, Dr. Jill Biden, and Olympic Gold Medalist Shawn Johnson.

Before the cameras rolled, ABC host Tom Bergeron and Biden chatted, and Bergeron joked with the audience. Between commercial breaks, the 11 finalists signed autographs, gave interviews, and took pictures with their fans.

Kavya told DCist that she was less nervous this year than in years past.

“I felt more relaxed and more calm,” she said. She also told reporters she didn’t actually know the first word she got in the semifinals (Round 4), "ergasia." Oh, and she also wants to become a neurosurgeon.

Most of the finalists seemed to handle the spotlight well, including Kennyi Aouad, whose casual style made every trip to the microphone as nerve-wracking as a Brett Favre gunslinger to the endzone. Aouad even conquered a dreaded “origin unknown” word (the kiss of death in a spelling bee, one parent told me) only to be beaten by "palatschinken" in Round 11.

Then there was 13-year-old Serena from West Palm Beach, who chose the word “effervescent” to describe herself (her brother Chase, when asked, used “bubbly,” which is the yeoman’s translation). Her mom had competed in several local spelling bees but never made it to the Big Bee, so her daughter was inspired to give it a shot. Serena, who has been competing for five years, was eliminated last year in the quarterfinals, and her goal this year was to make it to the TV round. She lasted until Round 8 ("conchyliated") after rattling off "omphaloskepsis" in Round 7.

The sole representative from the District of Columbia, Sonia Schlesinger, only competed in Round 1.