If you’re an education buff, you might be interested in Rebecca Sealfon. She’s a Principal Instructor of Data Science at Byte Academy and freelance writer whose work has appeared in Smithsonian, Imagine, The New York Daily News, and many other publications. However, before you check out her website, read our interview with her. Below, you’ll discover her qualifications and why you should be reading her bio.
Rebecca Sealfon
When you’re looking to win the spelling bee, you have plenty of choices. While Rebecca Sealfon’s championship word, E-U-O-N-Y-M. was the most coveted word, she also missed out on the ESPY Awards. But it’s not all bad news for her. There are plenty of ways you can watch her spell the championship word and get some tips for success. Keep reading to find out how to train your mind and prepare for the big day.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is usually an all-business event, but in 1997, a 17-year-old from Florida won the competition by screaming the letters “E-U-O-N-Y-M!” She was a teenager when she won, and she has since become a successful freelance writer. Her work has appeared in Smithsonian, the Daily Beast, and Imagine. She also has a wildly successful YouTube channel, and you can follow her on Twitter.
Akshay Buddiga
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is traditionally a business event, but this year’s competition featured a pair of young people who are not afraid to challenge themselves in the arena of words. Rebecca Sealfon, the 1997 winner, screamed the letters “E-U-O-N-Y-M!” and became the first woman to win the competition. Akshay Buddiga finished second, appearing as though he was about to faint when he spelled alopecoid.
In the 2017 Spelling Bee, Akshay Buddiga passed out while spelling alopecoid, but recovered and went on to spell the word. This video has garnered more than 180,000 views on YouTube. Rebecca Sealfon, on the other hand, famously spelled the word “euonym” and was announced as the winner. The moment of the competition is now etched in the history books as one of the most iconic moments in Spelling Bee history.
In the previous two years, both participants had built a loose network of spellers via AIM. They joined chat rooms, proctored informal bees, and encouraged one another. On the day of the finals, they were nervous but had practiced and drilled on words and their origins in their hotel room. But the National Spelling Bee has become a cherished tradition, and their stories have given the nation hope for the future.
Nupur Lala
A recent Scripps National Spelling Bee winner, Ananya Vinay, has won a $40,000 cash prize. She is the thirteenth consecutive Indian American winner of the contest, and the 18th winner of the competition with Indian heritage. The trend of Indian-American winners began with Nupur Lala’s win in 1999. In this case, she beat out another Indian-American student, Rohan Rajeev, who was among the last two spellers to take the prize.
Akshay Buddiga 2004
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” was a Broadway hit that merged Scrabble fans with musical theater geeks, and also featured a memorable fall by a wrestler. Although his fall was unexpected, the story has many positives. He was a Stanford graduate with a Masters in engineering, and his brother is a professional poker player. His family is very supportive of his efforts and hopes he can repeat his success in 2006.
Although the Scripps National Spelling Bee is usually a strictly business event, Akshay Buddiga is an unlikely winner. The 1997 winner Rebecca Sealfon screamed “E-U-O-N-Y-M!” before stumbling over the letters “E-U-O-N-I-O-N-Y-M!” in the final round. The second-place finisher in the 2004 competition, Akshay Buddiga, seemed to faint while spelling the word alopecoid. The audience was enthralled by this momentous feat.
Nupur Lala 1999
The winners of the Scripps Spelling Bee are not the MacArthur geniuses or Nobel Prize winners of the past. But the six spelling champs are very bright. And they all chose prestigious careers. For example, Nandipati will probably become a neurosurgeon or a psychiatrist. Nupur Lala, meanwhile, will study cognitive science and language processing. Both have great potential to go far in the world of science.
