
Kavya Shivashankar (13-years-old) an eighth grader from Olathe, Kansas, correctly spelled "Laodicean" to win the National Spelling Bee competition 2009 Thursday night. She spelled the winning word "Laodicean" means - lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics. In earlier rounds, Kavya spelled challenging words like "hydrargyrum", "blancmange" and "baignoire". In the fourth round, she correctly spelled "huisache", It means - Thorny shrub or small tree.
A student at California Trail Junior High School, Kavya was making her fourth appearance at the bee, having finishing 10th, eighth and fourth over the last three years. She enjoys playing the violin, bicycling, swimming and learning Indian classical dance, and her role model is Nupur Lala, the 1999 champion featured in the documentary "Spellbound". She plans to become a neurosurgeon.