Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2013 - (Page 34)

The tion efini D of on ti na i rm te e D MARK BOWEN/SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE by Ar vind Mahankali I began watching the Scripps National Spelling Bee when I was very young. I was amazed by how the kids were able to spell such obscure words, which I used to write down in a notebook. After watching the spelling bee in 2007, I decided that I wanted to be on that same stage. 34 imagine Around that time, my second grade teacher held a spelling bee for my class. When I won, I started to believe that I might have ability in spelling. I competed in a few spelling bees after that, including one conducted at a local test prep center and another at a temple in my neighborhood. I prepared by studying word lists from the vocabulary books in my classroom, and this helped me to advance to higher rounds. I was convinced that I was on my way to becoming a great speller. But when I competed in the regional level of the South Asian Spelling Bee (for students of South Asian descent) in the summer of 2008, I was eliminated almost instantly after misspelling the word “repentant.” At first I was discouraged. Then, I decided to study much more rigorously. I decided to take on the dictionary. According to the Dictionary The oﬃcial source for the Scripps National Spelling Bee is Merriam-Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, a humongous book with over 2,500 pages. The size of this book initially frightened me, but with the help of my parents, I

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2013

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2013
Contents
Bridging the Gap
The War on Cancer
Teen Researchers on the Forefront of Medicine
Ancient Medicine Meets Modern Technology
Innovations in Medicine
Wherever Help Is Needed
Summer in the Lab
Our Second Genome
The Defi nition of Determination

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2013