2000s Champions

George Abraham Thampy

George Abraham Thampy, age 12, sponsored by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, won the $10,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “demarche.”

George became the head of corporate strategy and investor relations at Kyverna Therapeutics in 2023. Before that, he was the senior director of business operations at CareDx, Inc. He is a graduate of Harvard University and the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Sean Conley

Sean Conley, age 13, sponsored by the Aitkin Independent Age, won the $10,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “succedaneum.”

Sean moved to the U.K. with his family after his Bee victory and spent several years there.

Pratyush Buddiga

Pratyush Buddiga, age 13, sponsored by the Rocky Mountain News, won the $12,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “prospicience.”

Pratyush majored in economics at Duke University and became a professional poker player. He later became a venture capitalist.

Sai R. Gunturi

Sai R. Gunturi, age 13, sponsored by The Dallas Morning News, won the $12,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “pococurante.”

Sai earned a degree in quantitative economics from Tufts University in 2011 and an MBA from Northwestern University in 2021. He is a consultant for Boston Consulting Group in Austin, Texas, and is the chief product officer of NovaNav, a service that helps providers improve the pre- and post-surgery experience for patients.

David Scott Pilarski Tidmarsh

David Scott Pilarski Tidmarsh, age 14, sponsored by the South Bend Tribune, won the $12,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “autochthonous.”

David received his bachelor’s degree from Yale University and his master’s degree from the University of Texas. He became a teaching assistant for graduate courses at the University of Texas.

Anurag Kashyap

Anurag Kashyap, age 13, sponsored by The San Diego Union-Tribune, won the $12,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “appoggiatura.”

Anu won the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament in 2008. He graduated from MIT with a master’s in engineering, and is now a principal product manager for Synapse Health. He previously was a product manager at Alto Pharmacy and Pinterest.

Katharine Close

Katharine Close, age 13, sponsored by Asbury Park Press/Home News Tribune, won the $20,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “Ursprache.”

Kerry married and became Kerry Close Guaragno. She is a senior vice president at Group Gordon, a public relations firm, and previously was a reporter for several newspapers. She received an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and a master’s at NYU in business and economic reporting.

Evan M. O'Dorney

Evan M. O’Dorney, age 13, sponsored by the Contra Costa Times, won the $20,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “serrefine.”

Evan received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and his Ph.D. in math from Princeton University. He is a postdoctoral associate at Carnegie Mellon University, specializing in number theory.

Sameer Mishra

Sameer Mishra, age 13, sponsored by the Journal & Courier, won the $30,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “guerdon.”

Sameer earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and statistics from Columbia University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is an investor at Ananym Capital Management.

Kavya Shivashankar

Kavya Shivashankar, age 13, sponsored by The Olathe News, won the $30,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “Laodicean.”

Kavya served on the Bee Week College Crew before joining the Word Panel in 2022. She is currently an OB/GYN planning to continue her medical training as a maternal-fetal medicine fellow in New York. She earned her M.D. from Thomas Jefferson University and a B.A. in neuroscience and behavior from Columbia University.