There’s no way to overstate how excited Siyona Mishra, speller 39, was to be in the finals.
“On a scale of one to 10, it’d be infinity,” she said. “I’m so shocked right now. The best way to describe me is ecstatic.”
Siyona, a sixth grader from Orlando, Florida, is at the bee for the first time. With her mother, Sonali, she’s been studying root words and how language works.
Siyona planned to relax before she came back on stage Thursday night.
“I think I might do better if my mind is fresh and clear,” she said.