A try, try and try again strategy paid off for Akansha Nanda, a sixth-grader from Carlos Gilbert Elementary School in Santa Fe, New Mexico, who beat out 45 competitors from around the state to become the winner of the 2018 New Mexico Spelling Bee. She won in the 15th round of this year’s competition by correctly spelling the championship word "Mozambique."

Photo credit: Marla Brose, Albuquerque Journal