Ankita Balaji, a seventh-grader at Rachel Carson Middle School in Herndon, will represent Fairfax County Public Schools in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, starting next Tuesday, May 28.
Balaji still remembers the moment she spelled the winning word correctly and won the 2024 Fairfax County spelling bee in March.
“That word was zanni, z-a-n-n-i, and then I got it right, and I realized I won and I was really happy,” she told FFXnow.
Balaji said she’s been watching the spelling bee since she was 5 years old. She was in third grade when she first won her school’s spelling bee in 2020, but the regional competition was canceled due to the pandemic.
Now with the national spelling bee approaching, Balaji says she’s nervous and excited.
“I’m finally a contestant in the spelling bee that I’ve been dreaming of for as long as I can remember and…I’m just really proud of how far I’ve come,” she said.
Balaji is no stranger to spelling. Her sister, Akshita, has competed twice in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2019 and 2021. Now a junior at Westfield High School, Akshita has been coaching her younger sister.
“She’s done this before, so she knows exactly what to say and how to calm me down if I’m ever feeling stressed out or nervous about the spelling bee,” Ankita Balaji said.
Her grandfather, who inspired her to win the spelling bee, lives in India and also makes time to help.
“It’s like a whole different timezone and every time we have a spelling bee, or like a test or anything, he always stays up praying for us,” she said.
Balaji said she’s grateful for all the support from her family and the Fairfax County Council PTA, who hosted this year’s spelling bee.
“None of this would have been possible without any of them and I just really appreciate it,” she said.
For students working to achieve their goals, Balaji advises, “Keep doing what you’re doing, work hard and just don’t doubt yourself.”
Balaji will compete with 244 other spellers from all 50 states, D.C. and even a few qualifiers from outside the U.S. at this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee, which will take place from May 28-30 in National Harbor, Maryland.
The preliminary rounds will stream online from 8 a.m. to 7:40 p.m. on Tuesday, May 28 via multiple platforms, including ION Plus and spellingbee.com, which will also stream the quarterfinals from 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. the next day. The semifinals will be live-streamed on Wednesday, May 29 from 2:30-6:30 p.m. with a “special” broadcast from 8-10 p.m. on ION and Scripps News.
The finals will air live on ION from 8-10 p.m. on Thursday, May 30.
