NRI Pulse Staff Report
Atlanta, GA: Sadhana Durbha, a rising junior from Lambert High School in Forsyth County won the prestigious 2015 Medical Spelling bee in a competition organized by HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America), a national student organization. The competition was held as part of the 2015 HOSA National Leadership Conference held at the Anaheim Convention Centerin California with over 8,000 attendees. Sadhana was one among three students from Georgia selected in the medical spelling bee category to go to the nationals from a pool of hundreds of high school students competing across the state. She qualified to go to the national convention upon placing in the top three in the regional and state levels.
The Medical Spelling bee at the nationals attracted 66 finalists with winners from several states across the US. After an initial written round, 33 spellers advanced to a spell down round in which Sadhana emerged as the champion. She spelled some very difficult words along the way and won the competition by correctly spelling “radiculomeningomyelitis” meaning “inflammation of the meninges, spinal cord, and spinal nerve roots”.
An avid speller since a very young age, Sadhana took inspiration from her cousins who competed in the Scripps Spelling Bee at the national level. She herself has won numerous spelling competitions at both regional and national levels. She got her start in spelling through contests organized by North South Foundation, a non-profit organization with the mission of providing scholarships to academically bright under privileged children in India. Sadhana took a particular interest in the medical field after taking inspiration from her mother Aparna, a highly successful pediatrician.
When asked how she prepared for the spelling bee, Sadhana replied: “After years of competing and winning in the various spelling bees, I knew that my competition was the dictionary. I decided to master it by making a plan to study every word in the Mosby’s medical dictionary, its meaning, and the underlying root words it is composed of. I spent a good part of the last four weeks leading up to the competition by making a study plan and sticking to it.”
“HOSA provided me this great opportunity not only to further express my passion for spelling, but to also lay a strong foundation towards my career goal of becoming a doctor. I would like to thank Lambert HOSA for providing me with the opportunity, and my family and friends for keeping me motivated” she added.
