Concord speller finishes tied for fourth in Scripps National Spelling Bee

Aishwarya Kallakuri of Concord was eliminated from the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night when she missed the word “Keighley.” Aishwarya was in the 17th round of the bee, which was the seventh round of the finals. Six spellers were still in the bee at the start of the 17th round, but three spelled out in that round. Officially, Aishwarya finished tied for fourth. She was sponsored by the Carolina Panthers. Aishwarya is an eighth grader at Valor Preparatory Academy and previously competed in 2024 (tied for 22nd place). She is an avid reader and writer. She loves to sing, learn new languages and research topics in which she is interested. Aishwarya has visited seven countries: India, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria and Switzerland. Aishwarya has distributed philosophy, scripture and yoga books for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Her aspiration is to go to a prestigious college when the time comes, and she wants to pursue a career in psychology and neurology. One day, she hopes to give back to the spelling community and help other spellers achieve their dreams. The other spellers sponsored by the Carolina Panthers are Sach Akella of Mills Park Middle School, Holden Good of Moore Square Magnet Middle School, and Kushi Gottimukkala of Carnage G&T Magnet Middle School.