What's it like to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee?
"It's like a dream come true, I'm so happy right now," said speller 264, Ananya Vinay. "It was interesting to go back and forth for so many rounds."
Ananya likes to volunteer because she likes to help people. She’d like to be a doctor, scientist or a writer, and she likes reading mythology and adventure stories.
“I like finding stories behind words, investigating them further,” she said.
One of her favorites is Philomel, a word that means nightingale. It comes from the tale of a princess who was turned into a nightingale.
She's also a fan of the Golden State Warriors, who are playing in the NBA Finals tonight. She likes Steph Curry.
"Go Curry," she said.
Ananya bested Rohan Rajeev, speller 235. Rohan’s sister, Raina, taught him the alphabet when he was two, he said. As a child, she was diagnosed with generalized dystonia.
Because of that, he wants to be a neurologist. Raina is watching at home, as is Rohan’s mother.
“She’s been my motivation,” he said.