A New Jersey student spelled her way to the semifinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Kavya Jakasania, a seventh-grade student at Middle School 4 in Jersey City, reached the semifinals of the national competition, which were held on Wednesday, according to NJ.com.
This was the 13-year-old’s first time participating in the scholarly event, which took place in Maryland — and she tied for 23rd place out of its 230 competitors.
Jakasania, who was disqualified on the word “revellent,” is not discouraged by her loss — and plans to work “twice as hard” in the next year, she told the outlet.
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Her father Satyam explained that all the other contestants had participated before and employed the use of coaches to prep them. “She did it on her own,” he told The Jersey Journal.
The Jersey City resident qualified for the tournament when she won the 2023 Hudson County Spelling Bee in February — by accurately spelling “internecine.”
The winner of the final round of the bee, held on June 1, 14-year-old Dev Shah of Florida, clinched the title by correctly spelling “Psammophile.”
