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Kids On The Move - Eesha Ramanujam
08/24/2009 - By Teja Anderson
SPELLER AND STUDENT EXTRAORDINAIRE
Eesha Ramanujam is a young lady who loves words. She loves to read them and is already famous for spelling them. This past March, 13-year-old Eesha out-spelled students from 90 schools to win the “Spelldown 2009” competition, sponsored by the Asbury Park Press and The Home News Tribune. The Spelldown began with 90 spelling champions from elementary and middle schools throughout Monmouth, Ocean, and Middlesex counties, but Eesha won the crown by spelling “quadrivial”* in the final round at Monmouth University's Pollack Theater.
This victory secured a place for her among 293 other gifted spellers (including six others from New Jersey) at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington last May. This highly competitive, annual 3-day event is run on a not-for-profit basis by The E. W. Scripps Company, and is held in the ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel in Washington, DC. Historically, the competition is open to the winners of sponsored American regional spelling bees. It is also open to contestants from Canada, Mexico, Jamaica, New Zealand, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Ghana, Germany, South Korea, and the Bahamas; the preliminary rounds are televised on ESPN and the championship finals are aired live on the ABC network.
“It was an amazing experience,” Eesha said enthusiastically. “I became good friends with a girl from South Korea, and I met girls from the Bahamas, Jamaica, and California. My friends and I formed a group called “The Side Hat Club” and we had so much fun; we sang karaoke.” Ocean Township proudly issued a proclamation in her name, and the Board of Education recognized her and awarded her a special certificate of achievement.
Eesha credits her parents’ coaching and her love of reading for her success. “I read a lot! I actually think reading Harry Potter helped me the most for the first round. J. K. Rowling is a British writer, and she has a very good command of the English language, so I learned a lot of words from reading her books.” She also thought her lucky sweatshirt might have given her an edge at first, as well as her confident demeanor and ability to stay calm, relaxed, and focused when in the hot seat.
Eesha, who lives with her proud parents, Kannan and Ramaa, and younger brother, Vibhu (9), in Ocean Township, will be attending High Technology High School (High Tech, specializing in science and engineering) in Lincroft as a freshman this fall. Other than the usual freshman jitters, Eesha is looking forward to the tougher curriculum and longer bus ride. “It’s going to be challenging at High Tech, but I think I can do it. I’ve been to visit the campus, and I do have some friends that are also going there, so I have a comfort level. Also, when you like school and you have the support of your peers and your family I think you can do anything,” she said wisely.
Not surprisingly, Eesha skipped a year of school, combining 6th and 7th grades, and recently graduated from Intermediate School, Ocean Township, where she led the Pledge of Allegiance at her graduation. While at Intermediate she was a member of her school's basketball and cross-country teams, also participating in and winning interschool forensic club competitions. Eesha excels in math (her favorite subject because it’s not open to interpretation) and language arts. She is an avid writer and has already won several essay contests for local newspapers and the local Elks Lodge. Eesha studies South Indian classical music and speaks Tamil, her parent’s native language and her first language. She is not fond of “cliques” among her peers, but cherishes her friendships.
Eesha also enjoys traveling, learning about different cultures, listening to music, writing poetry, and dancing. She spent her summer traveling with her family, as well as attending camps for basketball and literacy at Monmouth University. She would like to become an engineer, a writer, or a public speaker, and has her sights set on the Ivy League or possibly M.I.T. – a definite possibility for this bright, well-rounded student.
STATS
FAVORITE RESTAURANT
Olive Garden
FAVORITE MUSICIAN
Demi Lovato
FAVORITE MOVIES
Back to the Future…all of them
PET PEEVE
people who interrupt
THREE PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH
President Obama, Louisa May Alcott, and Mahatma Gandhi
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