Kavya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas, can spell words that most people cannot or would not ever use in a
sentence. Laodicean was the final word that earned the eighth grader the Scripps National Spelling Bee
championship in 2009. She outlasted 10 other finalists-all exceptional spellers-to claim victory. It was Karyas
fourth attempt to win the contest after being a finalist in the contest in 2006, 2007, and 2008, finishing in tenth,
eighth, and fourth places, respectively.
Do It!
