WASHINGTON — 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.
The budding neurosurgeon from Olathe, Kan., outlasted 10 other finalists Thursday night to win the 82nd Scripps National Spelling Bee, taking home more than $40,000 in cash and prizes and, of course, the huge champion’s trophy.
“I can’t believe it happened,” Kavya said. “It feels kind of unreal.”
After spelling the winning word, which means lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics, Kavya got huge hugs from father Mirle, mother Sandy and little sister Vanya.
“The competitiveness is in her,” Mirle Shivashankar said. “But she doesn’t show that. She still has that smile. That’s her quality.”
Kavya was making her fourth consecutive appearance at the bee, having finished 10th, eighth and fourth previously. She enjoys playing the violin, bicycling, swimming and learning Indian classical dance, and her role model is Nupur Lala, the 1999 champion featured in the documentary “Spellbound.”
Second place went to 12-year-old Tim Ruiter of Centreville, Va.
All the finalists, except for Tim, were 13 years old. Kavya turned 13 last week but was too busy planning for the bee to have a party.
This year’s bee attracted a record 293 participants, with the champion determined on network TV in prime time for the fourth consecutive year.
The winner, and other words
laodicean: lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics (winning word)
noisette: a type of food
hebdomadally: something that happens once a week
gastaldo: a representative of a king
thylacine: a rare, doglike marsupial
hircocervus: a legendary half-goat, half-stag
perciatelli: a type of pasta
ergasia: integrated activity or behavior of a whole organism
escritoire: a writing desk
