The Scripps National Spelling Bee celebrates its centennial anniversary this year, highlighting its origins in 1925 with just nine participants. NPR connected with former champions across generations to discuss the competition's lasting influence. Karthik Nemmani, who won in 2018, credits the discipline of spelling complex words for aiding his studies in computer science and linguistics. Similarly, 1999 champion Nupur Lala attributes her success as a neuro-oncologist to the skills she developed through the spelling bee, noting that it helped her learn to process complex information rapidly. Personal connections formed during the competition persist, as seen in Lala's upcoming wedding plans involving her spelling bee friends.
In this field, there seem to be multiple conditions with polysyllabic names. So I say that I got a head start.
I learned to absorb a lot of information quickly.
The only time I've ever used it is when someone asked me, 'Oh, what was your winning word?,'
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