Hello, I am Akshita Balaji. I’m 17 years old and I’m a senior at Westfield High School. I’ve had a passion for spelling and a deep love for language since I was a kid, and I’ve been competing in bees for as long as I can remember. I won my class spelling bee for the very first time in third grade, and competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2019, my sixth-grade year. After that, I was inclined to win my county spelling bee again in 7th grade, but unfortunately, it was canceled due to Covid-19.
In 2021, I made it to the Scripps National Spelling Bee for the second time. I made it to the Semifinals of the competition and tied for 21st. I also competed in many other national spelling bees, such as NorthSouth National Finals 2021 (Placed 2nd), SpellPundit Online National Spelling Bee (Placed 3rd). After losing eligibility to compete, I took inspiration from my spelling coach and started my own coaching business. For the last four years, I’ve been coaching aspiring national spellers and helping them achieve their dreams.
