Vanya Shivashankar
This site has been modified from its original version. The interactive elements, such as comment forms, have been removed. This site was archived in October, 2019.
Spelling Bee Champ
Vanya isn’t afraid of being on stage in front of a bunch of strangers. Whether she’s spelling at the microphone or acting in a play, she enjoys entertaining and performing. In addition to acting, Vanya also plays tuba and piano, and she recently won the Mid-America Music Association award for Exceptional Pianist and Jazz Pianist.
When she’s not performing, Vanya likes to hang out and eat pizza with her sister Kavya (the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion), who is Vanya's role model. Vanya swears that she could (and would) eat pizza every single day for the rest of her life. She likes riding her bike and swimming, and is involved at school with the WEB Team and KAY Club. Vanya previously competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2010, 2012 (tied for 10th place), 2013 (tied for 5th place) and 2014 (tied for 13th place).