After spelling his way through dozens of rounds at local and regional bees, 13-year-old Roshan Kaushik took the stage at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Maryland to compete for prizes and a national title. 

The Lehi student from Challenger School Traverse Mountain won the City Journals regional spelling bee in March, which allowed him to attend the national event where he faced more than 240 challengers from across the country.

Roshan completed three preliminary rounds, three quarterfinals and one semifinal before missing the vocabulary word “frangible.” He finished the bee tied for 36th place.

“The most exciting thing for me was probably the written test because it was really hard,” he said. “So passing that was really exciting because I didn’t think I would pass it, but I did.”

Bee Week 2025 took place at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, May 25-29. The City Journals paid for Roshan and a parent to travel to D.C. for the competition, where he won two medals and $500.

He spelled “quonset” for the first round, moved through the vocabulary and spelling test rounds, spelled “culvert” in the fourth round, defined “redundant” in the next round, spelled “aptery” in the sixth round and “glessite” in the seventh. But he missed the definition of “frangible” in the first semifinal round.

Roshan’s father, Kaushik Srinath, said attending the National Spelling Bee felt like a celebration, with everything well-organized and fun for the kids. He was grateful for the opportunity to witness Roshan compete at the national level.

“After qualifying through the regionals on March 15, Roshan had a couple of months to prepare for the Nationals. Despite juggling his regular school commitments, he put in a tremendous amount of effort,” Srinath said. “I do wish we had a bit more time to prepare, but I was impressed by how he handled it all. Roshan naturally thrives under pressure and this event was no exception.”

Besides competing in the bee, Roshan and his family took time to explore Washington, D.C., and enjoyed sightseeing at the National Harbor. This was the 100th anniversary of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which had only nine spellers in that first competition.

For many years, the City Journals has sponsored a regional spelling bee to enhance reading, comprehension and spelling skills, promote effective study and time management, and to allow students to shine on stage. 

“As a hyper-local newspaper, we hold our regional bee each year to build and support the community,” said City Journals Publisher Bryan Scott. “We have had some incredible students come through our competition and we have been able to sponsor them at the national level. Roshan did an excellent job at the national spelling bee. We’re so proud of him and hope to see him at next year’s event.”

Besides being a spelling whiz, Roshan plays the piano, loves to read and play basketball, and makes history videos for his YouTube channel @TheHistoryGuy245. Roshan is eligible for the national bee for one more year and plans to study hard to make it back to that stage. He challenged other students to participate in their school spelling bees.

“It’s a really fun experience and you have nothing to lose,” he said.

His father said watching Roshan advance through each round was nerve-racking, but exciting. Faizan Zaki, a 13-year-old from Dallas, Texas, won the Scripps National Spelling Bee, correctly spelling “éclaircissement.” Visit SpellingBee.com for more info about the national event. 

“We’re extremely proud of [Roshan’s] performance,” Srinath said. “Tying for 36th place out of 242 participants in his very first National Bee is a remarkable achievement.” λ