Toss almost any word to the 11-year-old and she can throw it right back at you, letter by letter.

The Warm Springs Elementary School sixth-grader leaves today for Washington, D.C., and the 77th annual Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee, where she'll face 264 of the savviest spellers in the States. She'll be accompanied by her parents and her younger brother.

She's a little nervous and a little excited, but ready to test her mettle and see what happens.

"I want to at least reach the finals," Pooja said Friday afternoon while taking a break from her rigorous study schedule.

Pooja spelled her way to victory at the school bee in January and clinched first place at the regional competition in March.

Her winning word? Orthognathous.

No sweat.

The national bee begins Tuesday and continues through Thursday. ESPN will broadcast the final rounds. Pooja is one of 15 competitors from California.

Her father, Ketan, said his daughter has been logging between eight and 10 hours of work every day during the week prior to nationals.

"The only real time I get to loosen up is when I go to sleep at night," Pooja said. She also takes a 10-minute breather after tearing through 20 pages of words, she added.

To prepare for the bee, Ketan studied with his daughter at their home, and occasionally the two visited a nearby park to toss around words while Pooja played on the swings.

The schedule sounds nearly all-consuming, but Pooja said spelling has taken center stage in her busy life only temporarily.

The upbeat girl has a black belt in karate, loves to draw and read, and plans to take up piano and guitar this summer. She's also a leader at school -- although she didn't mention that herself.

According to Warm Springs Principal Robin Riley, Pooja was new to the school at the start of last year, and within weeks was elected president of the student council.

"That's the fun part -- she's gifted academically, but also socially," Riley said. "I wouldn't be surprised if she went really far and won it because she's got that drive and intelligence, and she knows how to sort the information."

Pooja's classmates will be with her in spirit as she wrestles with tough words next week Her teacher stopped by to drop off a stack of homemade cards and good-luck trinkets put together by Pooja's classmates.

Stuffed into a bright pink card with "The whole gang loves you" scrawled across the top was a pink beaded bracelet, lucky pennies and a picture of a dog.

"I'm going to bring everything," Pooja said.

The Oakland Tribune: Cityside
Leanne McLaughlin, Managing Editor
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