The Scripps National Spelling Bee celebrates its 100th anniversary this week

The Scripps National Spelling Bee celebrates its 100th anniversary this week.

The annual competition where students put their spelling skills to the test began in 1925 when nine newspapers hosted a spelling bee. Only nine spellers participated in that first competition. Millions of spellers have participated since then.

NPR spoke with champions from different generations to reflect on how the competition has impacted their lives.

In 2018, at the age of 14, Karthik Nemmani won the Bee with the word "koinonia," a Greek term meaning fellowship. He says it's not a word that comes up in casual conversation.

"The only time I've ever used it is when someone asked me, 'Oh, what was your winning word?,'" he said.

Nemmani, now 21, said the discipline for learning to spell elaborate words has helped him in his academic life. He just completed his junior year at the University of Texas at Austin, pursuing a double major in computer science and linguistics.

"I think I've always been more of a problem solver type of person," Nemmani said.

To compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, spellers must not have passed beyond eighth grade or reached their 15th birthday.

Nupur Lala won the 1999 spelling bee with the word "logorrhea," meaning excessive or incoherent talkativeness. Her victory was featured in the 2002 documentary Spellbound.

Lala, 40, said her spelling bee experience prepared her for her career as a neuro-oncologist who specializes in the treatment of brain and spine tumors.

"I learned to absorb a lot of information quickly," she said. "In this field, there seem to be multiple conditions with polysyllabic names. So I say that I got a head start."

Lala is getting married next month.

"We're going to have spelling bee friends at the wedding." Lala said. "I stayed friends with kids I did spelling bees with."

Spelling will also be part of the ceremony. Her fiancé will include spelling in his vows.

"He's an excellent speller. Believe it or not, not that that was a criterion for marriage or anything," she said.

John Paola, who won the 50th National Spelling Bee in 1977 with the word "cambist," a dealer in bills of exchange. "Fortunately for me, it was a phonetic spelling. C-A-M-B-I-S-T," he said.

Paola went on to become a veterinarian based in Annapolis, Md.

He stills remembers his in-person interview to get into veterinary school.

"My two interviewers only wanted to talk about the National Spelling Bee. There were no questions about what drove me to be a veterinarian or what my goals were in my professional career," he said. "But I really enjoyed that because it's a topic I have never grown tired of talking about."

Now 62, Paola plans to retire in July.

He says that winning the spelling bee is the academic achievement he is most proud of.

"I mean, I went to vet school and I became a veterinarian and that's super awesome and it's been a great career, but I still feel like the spelling bee was so unique that it'll always be the most special thing to me," he said.

Preliminaries for this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee begin on Tuesday. Semifinals and finals are available to watch via ION, a Scripps TV network.

The radio version of this story was edited by Adriana Gallardo. Majd Al-Waheidi adapted it for digital.

Transcript

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

So, Michel, can you spell koinonia?

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I can look it up.

MARTÍNEZ: OK, while we wait for that...

MARTIN: (Laughter).

MARTÍNEZ: ...We'll find out about Karthik Nemmani because he can.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KARTHIK NEMMANI: Koinonia, K-O-I-N-O-N-I-A, koinonia.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: That is correct.

(CHEERING)

MARTÍNEZ: That is correct. That's the word that Nemmani won the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee, which aired on ESPN. Now, this week, the spelling bee is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Preliminaries begin tonight, and we caught up with Nemmani and other past winners.

MARTIN: Koinonia is a Greek word for fellowship, and Nemmani says - shocker - it doesn't come up a lot in conversation.

NEMMANI: Yeah, I've never used it in actual conversation. It's just, if anyone's asked me, like, what was your winning word?

MARTÍNEZ: Although he never uses his fancy spelling bee words, his discipline for learning them comes in handy.

NEMMANI: Right now, I'm pursuing a computer science and linguistics double major at the University of Texas at Austin. I just finished up my junior year.

MARTIN: Nupur Lala's spelling bee win in 1999 was captured in a documentary, "Spellbound."

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "SPELLBOUND")

NUPUR LALA: Logorrhea, L-O-G-O-R-R-H-E-A.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: That is correct.

(APPLAUSE)

MARTIN: That means something that you are never guilty of, A, and that means excessive or incoherent wordiness or talkativeness.

MARTÍNEZ: Lala says learning words helped her become a neuro-oncologist.

LALA: Spelling bees were good prep in many ways, in that I learned to absorb a lot of information quickly and also spell a lot of very long words. For some reason, in this field, there seem to be multiple conditions with polysyllabic names. So I say that I got a head start.

MARTIN: And exciting news - she's getting married next month.

LALA: We're going to have spelling bee friends at the wedding. Like, this is something that really stayed with me through my life in all that it gave. Like, I stayed friends with kids I did spelling bees with.

MARTIN: As for their vows...

LALA: There will be a spelling component in which the groom will have to spell to win his bride (laughter). So, yes...

MARTIN: What?

LALA: ...The spelling bee does keep rearing its head in my life but I think now in very fun ways.

MARTIN: And Lala's fiance has been preparing.

LALA: He's an excellent speller, believe it or not. Not that that was a criterion for, like, marriage or anything, but it is nice. But he's, like, oh, my gosh. He's like, I never thought about what it felt like to spell in front of so many people.

MARTÍNEZ: It's hard enough to be married, much less spell to get married.

MARTIN: Facts.

MARTÍNEZ: John Paola won the 50th national spelling bee in 1977.

JOHN PAOLA: The word was cambist. Fortunately, for me, it was a phonetic spelling, C-A-M-B-I-S-T.

MARTÍNEZ: Definition - one who deals in bills of exchange. And other than having a family, winning the bee is one of his proudest moments.

PAOLA: I mean, I went to vet school and then became a veterinarian, and that's super awesome, and then that's been a great career. But I still feel like the spelling bee was so unique that it'll always be the most special thing to me.

MARTIN: We'll find out this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee champion and their winning word later this week.