Snigdha Nandipati of San Diego won the title correctly when she spelled
Snigdha Nandipati of San Diego won the title correctly when she spelled “guetapens,” French word for ambush.
She retained the coveted national honor for the community, that has been steadily growing in profile and influence, for the fifth straight year.
Nandipati, an avid reader and coin collector who aspires to become a psychiatrist or neurosurgeon, gets $30,000 in cash, a trophy, a $2,500 savings bond, a $5,000 scholarship, $2,600 in reference works from the Encyclopedia Britannica and an online language course.
Nandipati plays violin and is fluent in Telugu. She is the fifth consecutive Indian-American winner and 10th in the last 14 years.
The Indian-American community’s victory run began in 1999 when Nupur Lala captured the crown and was later featured in the documentary “Spellbound”. Anamika Veeramani scored a hat-trick for Indian-Americans by taking the crown in 2010. With Arvind Mahankali, 12, of Bayside Hills, New York, a finalist for the last two years, the three Indian American kids were the top spellers left in the last round from among the nine who made the finals on Thursday.
Congrats to the Indian American community!