29-05-2025
NC student makes it to National Spelling Bee finals in her 2nd year. How to watch
A middle school student from Concord is in the finals of the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Aishwarya Kallakuri, 14, will compete against eight other finalists Thursday night for the coveted Scripps Cup and a $50,000 cash prize. Kallakuri is an eighth-grade student at Valor Preparatory Academy in Concord.
If she wins the 2025 competition, Kallakuri would be the first speller from North Carolina to do so since 1970, when Libby Childress of Winston-Salem won by correctly spelling 'croissant.'
Kallakuri previously competed in the 2024 competition, tying for 23rd in the semifinals. This year, she clinched her spot among the nine finalists by spelling 'tallygalone,' which is a type of Australian fish.
Eight students from North Carolina were among the 243 competitors from around the country in this year's contest in National Harbor, Maryland. Of those, four made it to the quarterfinals and, later, semifinals.
Kallakuri made the semifinals along with three students from Wake County: Sach Akella of Cary, Holden Good of Raleigh and Kushi Gottimukkala of Raleigh.
Akella and Gottimukkala were eliminated in the seventh round, tying for 41st. Good was eliminated in the ninth round, tying for 20th place.
The finals of the 100th Scripps National Spelling Bee air live Thursday at 8 p.m. You can watch it over the air, on cable, satellite or online on ION.
