Indian-Americans Excelled at the Scripps Howard
National Spelling Bee
By Dr. Murali Gavini, National Coordinator, North South
Foundation
Indian-Americans
have excelled again at the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee, which took place in
Washington, DC on 27th and 28th of May, 1998. Millions of children participate in
this contest at different levels starting with the school and 250 regional winners are
invited to the National Finals from all over the US. This year, our community had the
distinction of having 14 of our children among the finalists: Srish Nakka, Hevnet, CA;
Sheena Pakanati, Greenville, DE; Napur Lala, Tampa, FL; Ghazala Irshad, Decatur, IL; Hirsh
Sandesara, Northbrook, IL; Mithun Kamath, Metairie, LA; Versha Sharma, Alexandria, LA;
Abraham Thampy, Maryland Hgts, MO; Prem Trivedi, Howell, NJ; George Krishna Jagannath,
Skillman, NJ; Kavita Krishnasamy, Pickerington, OH; Shamantha P. Reddy, Cincinnati, Ohio;
Kartik Ramanathan, Odessa, TX; and Shiv Sharma, Houston, TX. The North South Foundation
again this year had four of its participants among the finalists - Prem, Hirsh, Shiva and
Mithun.
It is indeed a proud day for all Indian-Americans as our youngsters
have performed extremely well in this prestigious national competition by claiming the 2nd
and 3rd and 4th places. It is significant to note that the 2nd and 3rd place winners are
regular participants of the North South Foundation Spelling Bee.
In the 8th round George Thampy settled for a 4th rank, and in the 9th
round Hirsh Sandesara earned 3rd place. Finally, in the 10th round Prem Trivedi was
honored with a 2nd place. The deciding word was "prairillon." Joddy-Anne
Maxwell of Kingston, Jamaica claimed the championship by spelling the word
"chiaroscurist" correctly.
Prem Trivedi is the only contestant in the history of Scripps Howard to
become a 2nd place winner in two consecutive years, 1997 and 1998. Prem discovered that he
is a good speller at seven years of age when he, for the first time, participated and won
1st place in the North South Foundation's New Jersey Regional Spelling Bee in 1993. In
1994 he claimed 2nd place in the NSF and 47th rank in Scripps Howard national finals. In
1995, he achieved a 4th place in NSF national finals. It is his persistence and tenacity
that made him the NSF Champion in 1996 and also got him the 8th rank at the Scripps Howard
National Finals. In 1997 he went on to win the 2nd place at the Scripps Howard National
Finals.
Prem is a straight A student whose interests include wildlife biology
and journalism. He earned NJ state recognition in the Johns Hopkins University Center for
Talented Youth program for his verbal score on his SAT. Prem writes poetry and one
of his works was recently selected for publication.
Hirsh Sandesara is a talented youngster with all-round achievements in
spelling, geography, math, and science. In 1997, he claimed 3rd place in the NSF Spelling
Bee and a 5th place in the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. He won 3rd place in
National Geography Olympiad and a 3rd place in Illinois Math League contest. Hirsh enjoys
working with computers and is an avid reader. His other interests include watching movies,
playing tennis and chess, and writing poetry. Hirsh also plays flute and is active in Boy
Scouts. He won several awards in academic performance in history, geography, science, and
math.
George Abraham Thamby had the unique distinction of claiming 4th rank
in the Scripps Howard Spelling Bee National Finals, at an age of 10, in his first attempt.
He is certainly a championship hopeful for 1999. George is an avid reader who enjoys
playing chess and listening to classical music, especially the works of Handel, Bach, and
Tchaikovsky. His other hobbies include flying kites, fishing, bike riding, and playing
badminton. He excels in geography and would like to pursue a career in pediatric medicine.
For any further information, call Dr. Murali Gavini at (908) 464-4159.
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