Meet Bruhat Soma, Champion Speller
2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee Winner Credits Kumon for Study Skills, Goal Setting
Bruhat Soma is a very determined kid and a very good speller – one of the best in the U.S., in fact. Bruhat won the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee, and he says Kumon helped him succeed.
Bruhat, now 13, won the national bee on his third try. The first time he qualified, he was in fifth grade. Unfortunately, he tested positive for COVID and was unable to compete. “I did not want my journey to end like that, and so I continued studying rigorously the next year,” he says.
The next year, his goal was to make the finals, which air on TV in primetime. However, he missed a word he knew in the quarterfinals after he made it more complicated than it should have been. “I learned two lessons from this experience: Keep your spelling simple and never overcomplicate. And I have to be very consistent in my studying in order to have a chance at winning,” he says.
He adds, “After giving it all in my seventh-grade year, my goal was achieved.”
After 14 rounds, he was tied with another speller, and the judges declared a spell-off, where contestants must spell as many words as possible in 90 seconds. Bruhat correctly spelled 29 out of 30 words, beating the previous spell-off record of 22 out of 26 words. His championship word was “abseil,” which is a descent in mountaineering using a rope looped over a projection above.
This year, Bruhat was invited back to the bee, but not to compete. He is speaking during the opening ceremony, encouraging the participants and providing live commentary during the bee.
How Kumon Helped
Bruhat is motivated to excel. He finished Kumon reading in fifth grade and completed every level in math except N and O. “Being used to spending an hour a day doing work (like Kumon) helped make studying spelling easier,” he says. He also says Kumon taught him about goal setting and how to work toward reaching his goals – whether that was achieving a new Kumon level or winning the spelling bee.
To prepare for the spelling bee, Bruhat studied about 6 hours per day on weekdays and 10 hours per day on weekends. He also used a website, SpellPundit, to test himself on about 100,000 words that are representative of most of the words asked at the spelling bee. He tracked words that he missed on a spreadsheet, and his dad helped him study those more intensely.
Like many exceptional spellers, Bruhat is an avid reader. He loves comedy and graphic novels, with “Big Nate” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” being his favorite series.
He also speaks multiple languages, which helps spellers learn root words. “My parents are both from India, so I can speak Telugu pretty well, and I am learning Spanish at my school,” he says. Telugu is a classical Dravidian language and the official language of the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
“Learning other languages can help you in spelling because, first, some of the words might actually be from that language, and second, knowing roots from other languages can help you piece together words and learn the relationships between words from different languages,” he says.
Having discipline and motivation, as well as a wide-ranging education, will undoubtedly serve Bruhat well in the future. When he grows up, he dreams of going to medical school and becoming a doctor.