Spellbinding: A Q&A With Sriram Hathwar

Sriram Hathwar, an eighth grader from Steuben County, rocketed to fame last month by winning the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Hathwar, who correctly spelled such words as nocifensor, sdrucciola and stichomythia, shares the title with Ansun Sujoe of Texas, the first time there have been co-champions in more than 50 years.

Hathwar also stands out as the first winner from upstate New York since 1976. His victory keeps the trophy in New York for a second straight year: Last year’s champion, Arvind Mahankali, hails from Queens.

Recently Hathwar and his family paid a visit to Albany, where the state Senate and Assembly passed resolutions recognizing his achievement. Afterward, City & State Albany Bureau Chief Jon Lentz tried (unsuccessfully) to stump Hathwar and asked him about his path to victory, his future plans and the time he got beaten in a spelling competition by his little brother.

The following is an edited transcript.

City & State: Congratulations on your victory! Is it a relief that it’s all over? 

Sriram Hathwar: I was kind of happy that it was over with, but I was also happy that I got the trophy. It was a pretty defining moment.

C&S: What are you going to do with all the time you spent studying?
SH: I actually have not thought too much about it. I really want to do well in high school and get a little better in subjects like math and science. I have my interests in helping my brother lift the trophy, too.

C&S: What grade is your brother, Jairam, in?
SH: He’s in fifth grade.

C&S: You think he will do well?
SH: He has actually already beaten me once. He came in second and I came in third once. This was a different competition, not for the Scripps. In the regional competition, to advance to the national, they only accept the top two. I was third and he was second, so he could have actually gone. But he gave up his place because he thought he was not prepared enough to win it. So he said, “You go get the title and I’ll get the money.”

C&S: You were one of two winners in the Scripps National Spelling Bee this year. Was that disappointing?
SH: I think that we were both fine with it. We became pretty good friends, and we knew that it was a competition against the dictionary, so we did not mind sharing it.

C&S: Last year Arvind Mahankali, another New York native, won the bee. Did you get to know him, too?
SH: I’ve actually known him for a long time. We do keep in touch still. I email him frequently.

C&S: This was your last year of eligibility, so you’re done now.
SH: Right. This would have been his last year too. He was in seventh grade. But because he has won, he cannot come back next year.

C&S: You obviously spent a lot of time studying, but was your ability to spell something you were born with?
SH: Actually until I was 3 years old, I only spoke my mother tongue: Kannada. Once I started to learn English, it grew rapidly, my love of language. So I’d always been interested in geography, math, science, but I guess this stuck with me because learning the etymologies and the language patterns helped while learning cultures and everything, and learning the vocabulary helped me in any field, just by learning those terms.

C&S: The English language is interesting because you have German words, French words, and if you get a sense of how the French, for example, spell things, it can be helpful.
SH: Yeah, I’m learning a second language now, which is French. By learning spelling, it really gives me more insight into learning French. My school actually starts in sixth grade for French, but I came into school in seventh, so I was one year behind, but I was able to get far because I had learned already so many words. Like on the first day, the teacher asked, “Does anybody know what plage is?” And I was like, “Oh, that means beach.” And I just knew that because of learning spelling. And everyone was shocked, because even they did not know the word after taking one year of French.

C&S: Can you spell parliamentarian?
SH: P-A-R-L-I-A-M-E-N-T-A-R-I-A-N.

C&S: How about colloquy?
SH: C-OL-L-O-Q-U-Y.

C&S: Solecism?
SH: S-O-L-E-C-I-S-M.

C&S: Has any interviewer stumped you since you won?
SH: No, not yet. A lawmaker just asked me the word coxswain, and that was the only word that I thought was difficult, but I still got it right. I asked my brother how to spell it, and he did not know.

C&S: What did you think of the State Capitol?
SH: It was a stunning building. I was really surprised. And everyone greeted me very nicely, so I was very happy to be here.

C&S: The two lawmakers who honored you— Assemblyman Phil Palmesano and state Sen. Tom O’Mara—had you met them before?
SH: No, I have not. But they were really delighted to meet me. So I felt welcome.

C&S: Did you know they were your representatives?
SH: I know Tom O’Mara, but I did not know the assemblyman.

C&S: Do you pay much attention to state politics? Do you know who the governor is?
SH: Yeah, Cuomo. The whole SAFE Act and everything. I keep up with the news to a certain point.

C&S: You are also into geography, and you’ve been to Albany before for a geography bee. What interests you about geography?
SH: Learning more about the world is key. Even through spelling I got to do that, and just merging the two is really good. I guess once you learn more about the world, it helps you gain insight into meeting new people, learning new cultures, eating different food. Geography is just all around us, too.

C&S: Anything I should know about Painted Post, your hometown?
SH: There is the Corning Glass Museum there, which is huge, and the Corning company. And the Finger Lakes region is only about 45 minutes away, so we go there pretty often.

C&S: And you want to be an ophthalmologist when you grow up?
SH: I’ve always been interested in the eye, because I’ve had glasses and I always wondered why I got headaches in kindergarten. It was because my eyes were changing, and I’ve always wanted to learn more about that. I actually did a project on that in sixth grade, like, a 25-page essay about it. So it was pretty cool.

C&S: Any chance you’d ever want to go into politics?
SH: I don’t know about that. The Wall Street Journal asked the same thing. I don’t know. It’s still up in the air—I mean, even ophthalmology.