\u201cIt was pretty surreal. I was kind of shocked that I won,\u201d Gelli said. \u201cI was half expecting me to go out on, like, some stupid mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Gelli said he has always been interested in reading, and that helped him pick up new words along the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has always been a very avid reader,\u201d said Archana Gelli, Nihal\u2019s mother. \u201cIn the first year during COVID lockdown. In one month, he finished eight Harry Potter books.\u201d<\/p>\n
That love of words helped push Nihal from a classroom spelling test to the Lee County Spelling Bee, where he said he did not expect to win.<\/p>\n
Once he realized winning regionals could send him to nationals, his approach changed.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I’m going to go into a competition, I might as well go well prepared,\u201d Gelli said.<\/p>\n
Since winning the county bee, Nihal has been locked in on preparation, sometimes spending four hours a night studying. He said he is not just memorizing words. He is learning roots, suffixes and word origins to help him break down words he has never seen before.<\/p>\n
His parents have been helping him prepare by quizzing him at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t know how he does it,\u201d Archana said. \u201cQuizzing him was the hardest part for me, but he does it so well, and he’s been working so hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
His father, Dr. Sreedhar Gelli, said the family is proud to see Nihal represent Lee County on a national stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are so proud that he’s representing our school district, and I am happy for him, and I wish him all the best,\u201d Sreedhar Gelli said.<\/p>\n
Outside of spelling, Nihal plays tennis and piano, does art and is part of the news crew at school. He also has a big goal set for the future, to become a neurosurgeon.<\/p>\n
For now, his focus is on Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m just hoping I do my best,\u201d Gelli said. \u201cTry to get to the finals.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nihal will not be the only Southwest Florida student competing in Washington, D.C. Nixon Diveley, a seventh grader from Pine Ridge Middle School in Collier County, is also headed to the national bee.<\/p>\n