Shijay Sivakumar, speller 234, had to decide how serious he wanted to be about spelling. The answer was very.
After a 2019 entry through the Bee’s RSVBee program, Shijay saw just what Bee Week was all about. He decided he was all-in on the Bee, even through a string of bad misses that he said felt like adversity that he had to overcome.
Now, the Golden State Warriors fan is in the finals at the same time hero Steph Curry takes the floor in the NBA Finals. He’ll be wearing his Curry sneakers, he said, to capitalize on the fact that both will be in the finals together.
“That’s pretty unreal,” he said. “I’m living the dream right now. I’m just really grateful to be here.”
Shijay also likes to read historical fiction about World War II and thinks he might want to be a cardiologist. He said he’s soaking in the spelling experience – every bit of it.
“This is literally my last day of spelling,” he said. “Even in my wildest dreams, I would have never thought it would have happened like this.”