What If: A Conversation with Harini Logan
2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion Harini Logan talks about the eventful past year and her five-year spelling journey. Along the way, she reflects on the teachers who inspired her, the power of belief, and how to be “your best and most brilliant self.”
What words come to mind when you think of the upcoming season?
Glogg! It’s a holiday drink, not to mention the word itself being fun looking, fun sounding, and Swedish!
Tell us about a teacher who helped inspire you.
One teacher that inspired my love for reading was my librarian, Ms. Karol. Ms. Karol not only encouraged my love for reading, but for writing as well. From 3rd grade, she’d recommend a new book every few weeks because the insatiable reader I was growing to be could never have enough. Through her, I found tales of rogues and riches, of dances and dragons. I read about the farthest realms and those closer to us than we might think. Ms. Karol encouraged us to think beyond the confines of our minds, to reach past what we consider “knowledge” and form new opinions, beliefs, and perspectives
What do you hope teachers understand about their impact on students?
I hope teachers understand that they can open doors to unimaginable avenues for their students to reach for their full potential and grow into the talented members of their communities they were meant to become. Behind each successful student is not only their family, but also a teacher who has encouraged, supported, and most importantly, believed in them along the way.
Belief is the most powerful thing you, as teachers, can give your students. Listening to their ideas, their passions, and simply telling them that they should pursue them, or that they are capable of what they want to achieve and more, is more validating and empowering than you could ever imagine.
Along my path to winning the Bee, my parents worked with the Montessori School of San Antonio’s now-principal, Ms. Emily Lund, to register my previously unaffiliated school with the Bee because that was my passion. As a testament to the exemplary administrator she is, Ms. Emily listened, and she believed. She believed in me, she believed in my passion, and she opened up a path without which I couldn’t have won the Bee and be where I am today.
What advice do you have for any current or future spellers out there who might be wondering if they should sign up for a classroom bee?
Go for it, because of two words: What If? There are two ways you can interpret What If. You can ask, “What if I fail? What if someone makes fun of me?” Or you can say to yourself “What if I win? What if I truly enjoy doing this?” When I walked into the room to take the written test at my school, the first student ever to represent MSSA, I asked myself the second type of What If.
I knew I loved spelling, and I was aware I had worked for this. And this June, five years after that, I asked myself again: “What if? What if I win?” And instead of considering everything that could go wrong, I walked in front of that microphone with only that question in mind, and by the end of that fateful night, I had my answer. No matter how big the stage, how loud the microphone, ask yourself “what if?”, and walk onto that stage as your best and most brilliant self.
When you reflect on your last year, what are some things you are grateful for? What are you looking forward to in 2023?
Looking back over what might’ve been the most eventful year of my life, almost every day has presented something to be grateful for. From (of course) winning the Bee and going to the White House to meet Dr. Biden, to being able to settle into a new school and relaxing at home with my family, I’m thankful for everything, small and big, that this year has given me. I’m looking forward to making more high school experiences and exploring creative writing in 2023!