Buffalo Grove Student Spells First Word Correctly in Semifinals of National Bee: UPDATE

A Buffalo Grove student spelled his first word at the semifinals for the Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday morning.

Aniket Nuthalapati, 14, was among 49 other students competing in the semifinals Thursday morning in Washginton D.C.

Here is an update from the Scripps Twitter page:

#speller62 8th grader Aniket Nuthalapati (IL) spelled the word ‘osteitic’ (relating to inflammation of the bone) correctly #spellingbee

— NationalSpellingBee (@ScrippsBee) May 28, 2015

Nuthalapati will continue on in the competition Thursday. There will be another round of spelling during the semifinals. Students who spell a word incorrectly are eliminated immediately.

Those advancing to the finals will be announced following the sixth round of spellers Thursday.

The above information was updated at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday.

Get UPDATES from Buffalo Grove Patch by signing up for our newsletter and following us on Facebook.

-------------------------------------------

POSTED AT 9 A.M. THURSDAY: A Buffalo Grove student is one of 49 students from across the nation who has made it to the semifinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Aniket Nuthalapati, 14, is an eighth grade student at Aptakisic Junior High School in Buffalo Grove, according to the Scripps Spelling Bee website.

Nuthalapati is the only Illinois’ student who made it to the semifinals of the national bee, according to the Chicago Tribune.

During the preliminary round in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Nathalapati spelled ”camoflage” correctly, and then went on to spell “auriphrygiate” correctly during the second preliminary round, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Here is the profile of Nuthalapati, which is posted on the Scripps website:

Aniket enjoys volunteering with community service ventures, particularly Feed My Starving Children, an organization committed to feeding hungry children worldwide. He considers Mahatma Gandhi to be his role model because of how much Gandhi accomplished in a peaceful way. A strong student in math and science, Aniket competed in his state science fair and has also won a regional history competition, and he hopes to study pediatrics in college. Aniket is also interested in a wide variety of sports, including football and swimming, and he plays the cello.

The semifinals will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday. And the championship finals will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday.

The spelling be can be watched live on the ESPN website.