The letters D, U, K and E have spelled the perfect collegiate environment for freshman Pratyush Buddiga, winner of the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in 2002 and the AAA Travel High School Challenge in 2005.
Buddiga's arrival on campus in the Fall made Duke one of the most orthographically gifted universities in the nation. Rebecca Sealfon, who gleefully screamed the spelling of "euonym" for the win at the National Spelling Bee in 1997, is a doctoral candidate in biology at the University. Sealfon declined to comment for this story.
The sophomore class also boasts its own spelling whiz in Michael Dechert, who placed 32nd at nationals as a seventh grader. His appearance at the next year's competition was highly anticipated, but he fumbled the word "sneer" in an early round-a heartbreaking moment he recounted in his Duke application essay.
"It was pretty devastating," Dechert said. "But I got in, which was the ultimate compliment."
Although six years have passed since Buddiga's time in the limelight, he said classmates still recognize him as the spelling bee champion every few weeks. Freshman Connor Smith said he was stunned to learn of his friend's accomplishment, and started laughing hysterically and jumping up and down before challenging Buddiga to spell the trickiest word he could think of.
"He asked for the origin and the definition, like everyone you see in the actual competition," Smith said. "[Meeting Buddiga] made me proud, because that's the type of people you meet at Duke."
Buddiga's hypercompetitive nature drove him to study at least 20 to 25 hours a week when he was competing on the spelling bee circuit, and he said the allure of attending a school with a perennially competitive basketball team helped him turn down the University of Chicago and the Franklin W. Olin School of Engineering. He said he wanted to go somewhere where he could spell his school's name on his chest--although he's yet to break out the paint for a game in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"I get pretty fanatical in the basketball games; anyone who's sat with me in a game can understand," he said. "Sometimes I'll yell coaching advice instead of just, 'Let's go Devils.'"
Off the court, Buddiga said he feels Duke has an atmosphere of healthy competition as well.
"I feel like all the people at Duke know how to balance being competitive and academically gifted without going too far," he said. "Everyone knows of schools where the culture is crazy, but at Duke people try to help each other succeed, even though the curve might be affected."
Vying for a spot at a top university like Duke is just one of many competitive ventures Buddiga has undertaken. He began spelling competitively as a fifth grader and reached the summit of his sport with the nationals win in eighth grade-an accomplishment he said came almost as a letdown because it spelled the end of his career.
"I definitely don't miss the studying," he said. "But I miss the actual competition, when the pressure's on."
The win made Buddiga a media darling, and he shared the secrets to his success with ESPN's Rich Eisen, CNN's Paula Zahn and President George W. Bush. Buddiga said his favorite appearance was on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", in which he competed in a rap-themed spelling bee with Snoop Dogg-Buddiga was stumped by the word "fo' shizzle."
Despite his 15 minutes of fame, Buddiga said his celebrity has been eclipsed by the notoriety of his younger brother, Akshay, who famously fainted during the 2004 bee before regaining consciousness to place third. A clip of Akshay taking the fall has more than 240,000 views on YouTube.
"He's easily a bigger celebrity than I am," Buddiga said. "But he would probably rather take the win."
Could the orthographic dynasty be reunited in August?
"[My brother] is looking at many schools, but he loves our basketball team," Buddiga said.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.