M.S. 74 Student to Compete in Scripps National Spelling Bee

An eighth grader from Bayside’s M.S. 74 will compete this weekend in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Maryland.  

Arvind Mahankali, 13, who attends the Nathaniel Hawthorne Middle School (M.S. 74) in Bayside, will face off against students from across the nation at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center outside Washington D.C.  

The eighth grader placed ninth in 2010 and finished in third place in 2011 and 2012.  

According to his Scripps profile, his favorite word he has spelled is “sardoodledom,” which means a mechanically contrived plot structure and stereotyped or unrealistic characterization in drama.  
Mahankali loves math and science and hopes to one day pursue a career as a physicist. He told Scripps that if he could meet one person, it would be Albert Einstein.