QUEEN’S College student Prachi Kondapuram will be taking on 280 international champions when she participates in the 87th Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National in Washington DC later this month.

Prachi, an 11-year-old seventh grade student in Nassau, won the 17th annual Bahamas National Spelling Bee in March to earn the right to represent the country in this highly competitive competition. One of the younger competitors, she will be speller no8 out of the 281 competing for this year’s coveted title at Oxon Hill, Maryland. Preliminary rounds will be on May 28, with the semi-finals and the finals the next day.

This year’s spellers are from the 50 US states, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and Department of Defence Schools in Europe, The Bahamas, Canada, China, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan and South Korea. The spellers range in age from 8 to 15, with the youngest being eight-year-old Hussain Godhrawala of Barnwell, South Carolina, but more than 86 per cent are between the ages of 12 and 14.

Preliminary rounds will be on May 28, with the semi-finals and the finals the next day.

In her official profile on the Scripps Spelling Bee website, Prachi “studies music theory, which she puts into practice while playing the keyboard”.

“She expresses her artistic side by writing stories and poetry and drawing manga,” the website notes.

“While she is in Washington, DC, it will be impossible for her to choose between visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial and National World War II Memorial because each one represents the valiant citizens who fought bravely at the behest of their country – so she will just have to go to all three.

“She would eat cheese pizza and chocolate all the time if she could, but she is also prone to random food cravings for everything from strawberry shortcake to tofu.

“Every day she tries to embody the philosophies of non-violence and forgiveness, virtues she learned from her role model, Nelson Mandela.”