SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Mihir Konkapaka competed at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2022 and 2023. Now a 10th grader at Westview High School, he reflects on the experience as exciting, but also intimidating.
"It's really nerve-wracking," Konkapaka said. "It is kind of intimidating because it's like … your fate is right in front of you."
Now, Konkapaka is channeling that experience into helping other kids reach their spelling goals. He holds free workshops for children and parents interested in competing in the spelling bee.
"I think my favorite thing about participating in the bee is learning the words and understanding the meanings behind them," Konkapaka said.
Konkapaka said the inspiration for the workshops came from his own experience as a middle schooler, when local resources for spelling bee preparation were hard to come by.
"Back when I was in like middle school, there really was no local resources for the spelling bee. You're given the word list for regionals, and that's it. You're kind of left in the dark about what to do," Konkapaka said.
Konkapaka eventually worked with a spelling tutor to help him reach the national competition, but he acknowledges the cost can be a barrier for some people.
"Having help shouldn't be gate kept by some sort of monetary barrier and so having free workshops like this is in my opinion really important into making sure that we're able to do well like as San Diego to be a kind of more competitive region," Konkapaka said.
Earlier this year, Konkapaka expanded his reach by partnering with the San Diego County Office of Education to hold his free workshops.
When it comes to preparation advice, Konkapaka encourages students to go beyond memorization.
"I think getting the words in your vocabulary, understanding where words come from, root words will help you decipher the meaning of words that you come across in the future," Konkapaka said.
As for his own future, Konkapaka said he has not decided on a path yet. He is interested in math, science and linguistics. Whatever direction he takes, he said the spelling bee has played a role in shaping who he is becoming.
"It doesn't really matter if you win or lose doing the spelling bee because the skills that you gain by simply preparing is enough," Konkapaka said. "You win by getting the studying and the experience of, you know, learning the words and learning everything."
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