2010s Champions

Anamika Veeramani

Anamika Veeramani, age 13, sponsored by The Plain Dealer, won the $30,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “stromuhr.”

Anamika is a plastic and reconstructive surgery resident physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She graduated from Yale with a bachelor’s degree as well as Harvard Medical School.

Sukanya Roy

Sukanya Roy, age 14, sponsored by the Times Leader, won the $30,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “cymotrichous.”

Sukanya is a doctoral student at the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business. She also graduated from Brown University with undergraduate degrees in international relations and English.

Snigdha Nandipati

Snigdha Nandipati, age 14, sponsored by U-T San Diego, won the $30,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “guetapens.”

Snigdha Nandipati is a medical student at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. She graduated from Yale with a neuroscience degree. She is also the author of A Case of Culture, a book about challenges that immigrant patients face when seeking healthcare in the West.

Arvind Mahankali

Arvind Mahankali, age 13, sponsored by the Daily News, won the $30,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “knaidel.”

Arvind is a Ph.D. student in computer science at Stanford University. He completed his undergraduate studies, also in computer science, at Carnegie Mellon University.

Sriram Hathwar

Sriram Hathwar, age 14, sponsored by Corning Rotary Club, won the $30,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “stichomythia.”

Sriram graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor of science in engineering degree and minors in computer science and quantitative and computational biology. He is the co-founder of a stealth startup.

Ansun Sujoe

Ansun Sujoe, age 13, sponsored by Texas Christian University, won the $30,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “feuilleton.”

Ansun is a software engineer at Lockheed Martin. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Vanya Shivashankar

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

Vanya, a medical student at the University of Miami, studied cognitive science and global health at Yale University. She became the Bee’s first female pronouncer for 2025 after previously serving as Bee Week emcee. She traveled to Nepal in the summer of 2022 as part of a research project on postpartum depression and sleeping habits in young mothers.

Gokul Venkatachalam

Gokul Venkatachalam, age 14, sponsored by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, won the $30,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “scherenschnitte.”

Gokul graduated from Columbia University with a degree in philosophy and is an artist specializing in abstract art.

Jairam Hathwar

Jairam Hathwar, age 13, sponsored by Corning Rotary Club, won the $40,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “Feldenkrais.”

Jairam Hathwar is a senior at Princeton University, studying computer science with minors in statistics and machine learning as well as quantitative and computational biology.

Nihar Janga

Nihar Janga, age 11, sponsored by Houston Public Media, won the $40,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “gesellschaft.”

Nihar Janga is a materials science and engineering major at Stanford University. He is also on Stanford’s men’s rugby team.

Ananya Vinay

Ananya Vinay, age 12, sponsored by The Fresno Bee, won the $40,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “marocain.”

Ananya is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience at Pomona University. In 2023, she was named one of 150 Coca-Cola Scholars.

Karthik Nemmani

Karthik Nemmani, age 14, sponsored by Scoggins Middle School, won the $40,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “koinonia.”

Karthik attends the University of Texas at Austin and is pursuing a computer science degree. He has served as a national judge for the North South Foundation’s spelling bee program.

Erin Howard

Erin Howard, age 12, sponsored by Adventure Travel, won the $50,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “erysipelas.”

Erin is studying evolutionary biology and plant genomics at the University of Georgia.

Rishik Gandhasri

Rishik Gandhasri, age 14, sponsored by the Bay Area Regional Spelling Bee, won the $50,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “auslaut.”

Rishik studies microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics at UCLA. He has raised more than $25,000 through volunteering to develop content for and teach classes in AP Chemistry and spelling bees to students across the nation. He also has volunteered at local North South Foundation competition events in various roles such as proctor, pronouncer, judge and grader.

Christopher Serrao

Christopher Serrao, age 13, sponsored by Discover Lehigh Valley, won the $50,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “cernuous.”

Chris is a graduate of Exeter Academy who used part of his gap year before college to assist International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War in its Geneva liaison office. He will enter Washington University in St. Louis in the fall.

Sohum Sukhatankar

Sohum Sukhatankar, age 13, sponsored by the Dallas Sports Commission, won the $50,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “pendeloque.”

Sohum attends Harvard University and is pursuing a degree in math and computer science. He has served as a national judge for WishWin’s Senior and Junior Spellathons.

Abhijay Kodali

Abhijay Kodali, age 13, sponsored by the Dallas Sports Commission, won the $50,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “palama.”

Abhijay is a senior at Flower Mound High School in Flower Mound, Texas.

Rohan Raja

Rohan Raja, age 13, sponsored by the Dallas Sports Commission, won the $50,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “odylic.”

Rohan is a junior at the University of Dallas on the premed track, actively volunteering in the healthcare field and mentoring underrepresented students for SAT preparation. He conducts and judges spelling bees for non-profits and also serves as the head judge for the Dallas Scripps Regional Spelling Bee.

Saketh Sundar

Saketh Sundar, age 13, sponsored by Howard County Library, won the $50,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “bougainvillea.”

Saketh studies neuroscience and linguistics at Harvard University. He has served as a regional bee pronouncer and is in his second year as a member of the Bee Week College Crew.

Shruthika Padhy

Shruthika Padhy, age 13, sponsored by Rosa International Middle School, won the $50,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “aiguillette.”

Shruthika is a B.S./M.D. student at Brown University and Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School. This is her first Bee as a member of the Bee Week College Crew.