Over 285 students are competing in this year's National Spelling Bee, which takes place May 24-26. However, one particular kid is standing out because he's the youngest of the bunch. The 6-year-old genius is Akash Vukoti from Texas and his favorite word is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, a type of lung disease.
Akash Vukoti earned a spot in the National Spelling Bee competition back in March, when he competed in in his state. "I knew all the words they gave, not just to me but to every speller," the boy proudly said, per ABC News. He started participating in spelling bees as early as the age of two when he was practically in diapers, and he practices with the help of a dictionary. Yahoo reports that the boy is homeschooled by his mom, Kala, who is an engineer. Akash Vukoti's father, Krishna, is a pharmacist.
Attending regular school would only slow down the boy's learning so the Vukotis decided that homeschooling would be best since he's mentally "five, six, seven grades higher," according to his mom. Akash Vukoti became a member of Mensa, a group for individuals with high IQ, at the age of three and his resume is an impressive 4-page account of his accomplishments, per Vox . Aside from spelling, the young genius also learns the origin of the words and the proper way to enunciate these. Doing so helps him become better at what he does.
A photo posted by Scripps National Spelling Bee (@scrippsnationalspellingbee) on May 25, 2016 at 11:19am PDT
However, the boy also understands defeat despite his glowing accomplishments as a 6-year-old. In fact, he was just eliminated at the National Spelling Bee Wednesday. He didn't get to spell the word "bacteriolytic" correctly in the third round, per NPR.
Though a genius who spends many times studying, Akash Vukoti lives a pretty normal life as a child. He spends time at the park and enjoys swimming like any other kids his age. He also has changing ideas of what he wants to be when he grows up, especially after getting some exposure on the TV show "Little Big Shots" with Steve Harvey. While he loved the idea of becoming an astronaut, Akash Vukoti told ABC he would like to become an actor as an adult.
