"I'm feeling good I made it to the championship finals," said Ashwin Veermani (Speller 188), whose sister - Anamika Veermani - won the Bee in 2010. "I'm having a good time."
Ashwin said his parents aren't putting any pressure on him, but that he wanted to do better this year than last, when he didn't make the finals.
"I feel great I was able to make it," he said. "I studied a lot harder. ...I feel more confident, better."
Ashwin is in eighth grade in North Royalton, Ohio. He spelled "dépaysé" incorrectly and was eliminated. The word means being out of one's elementor displaced.
