Quick Links

Honey Creek Middle School student Eesha Purohit wins Spelling Bee for second year in a row

Published in "The Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, Indiana" on March 18, 2006
by Deb McKee

Eesha Purohit’s final word was “atrocious,” but winning the Tribune-Star/Wabash Valley Regional Spelling Bee for the second year in a row wasn’t.

Purohit, 13, of Honey Creek Middle School, will represent the Wabash Valley in the 78th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., on May 31 and June 1. For the second time, she earned an all-expenses-paid trip for two people to the national competition. In addition to the trip, Purohit won the traveling trophy, which will be displayed again this year at Honey Creek Middle School. She also won $50 and $100 savings bonds and a Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.

“Spellmaster” Kevin Jones, director of annual giving at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, gave words to the contestants. Students from grades four through eight, representing schools throughout the Wabash Valley, rattled off spellings for words like “polarimetric,” “interregnum” and “decrepitude.”

It took nine rounds to thin the field from 46 to the final two contestants in Saturday’s contest.

On the final round, Jennifer Callaway, the 14-year-old first runner-up from Paris, Ill., misspelled the word “impeccable.” Purohit then spelled the word “catalytic” correctly, followed by the word “atrocious” for the victory.

Callaway, who is homeschooled by her mother Kendra, was participating in the regional spelling bee for the first time. She was very excited to win first-runner-up, she said.

Callaway took her time with each word, using her hand as an imaginary notepad and her finger as a pencil to spell the word in her mind before spelling out loud.

She handled “hexagonal” and “euphonious,” among others, with poise and seeming ease. As first runner-up, Callaway won an Amazon.com gift certificate, a $50 savings bond and a Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.

Nathan Hewitt, 14, representing Crestwood School in Paris, Ill., was the second runner-up. He managed such words as “babushka,” “turbulence” and “vestibule” before succumbing to “liturgy.” Saturday was also his first time to compete in the regional competition. Hewitt said everyone back at Crestwood would be very happy with his performance, “especially Mrs. Cash and Mrs. Hicks,” his scholastic-bowl teachers. Hewitt received a $50 savings bond and an Amazon.com gift certificate.

Toward the end of Saturday’s spell-off, as the field waned, Callaway and Purohit found themselves sitting right next to each other for the last four or five rounds. The girls, who didn’t know each other before the spelling bee, almost seemed to be rooting for each other, exchanging smiles of relief after each correctly spelled a word. When it was all over, the two shook hands and congratulated each other.

Purohit, whose younger brother Neelay participated in the 2005 regional spelling bee, may be followed by younger sister Shivani, who was on hand to support Eesha on Saturday.

Shivani, currently in third grade at Dixie Bee Elementary, will be eligible for the 2007 competition as a fourth-grader. Shivani said she was proud to help her sister and hopes to be involved in the spelling bees next year.

Eesha’s mother Shefali Purohit said the spelling bee is a family affair. “Her brother helped quiz her on words and we will start immediately helping her prepare for the national competition.”

With one national spelling bee behind her, Eesha knows better how to prepare for Washington, D.C., this time around, she said.

“Last year, I talked to some people there after it was over to get ideas on how to prepare, so we’re going to use some of those maybe,” she said. “I will definitely study more.”

Eesha is gaining a reputation as a consistent power-speller in the Wabash Valley. In fall 2004, she helped take the Honey Creek Middle School spell bowl team to a first-place finish in the Indiana Academic Spell Bowl competition. The team won first place in the Class I junior division in Indianapolis. In 2002, she was part of the Dixie Bee Elementary team that won first place at the Hoosier Spell Bowl, the only team in the state to achieve a perfect score.

Purohit, who enjoys playing violin and chess and is an accomplished tennis player, said, “I just want to thank my parents for all their help and my teachers for encouraging me. All my friends have been really supportive, too.”

The Scripps National Spelling Bee started in 1925, but was cancelled in 1943, 1944 and 1945 during World War II.