The Scripps National Spelling Bee is known as a serious competition where students study arduously to memorize root words and unusual spellings for a chance at a $50,000 cash prize and the title of national spelling champion. During the 2007 competition, 11 year old Kennyi Aouad approached the microphone with intense concentration, but when the judges gave him his word and he repeated it back, something unexpected happened. The word sardoodledom sent the young competitor into uncontrollable fits of laughter that he simply couldn’t shake off, bursting into giggles every time he tried to say it out loud.
Even one of the judges started giggling at Kennyi’s infectious reaction to the silly sounding word, which means mechanically contrived plot structure and stereotyped characterization in drama. Despite losing it repeatedly and struggling to compose himself, Kennyi managed to spell sardoodledom correctly, proving that joy and success can go hand in hand. He placed 34th that year but returned to compete again in 2009, where he tied for 5th place before eventually being knocked out by the word palatschinken, a type of Austrian crepe. Today Kennyi is a registered pharmacist with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Midwestern University and a bachelor’s in chemistry from Carleton College, showing that his love for learning never faded.
