Poplar Bluff boy to compete in national spelling bee | People

POPLAR BLUFF (KFVS) - A Poplar Bluff boy has a chance to become the spelling champion of the nation.

Twelve-year-old Adeesh Mishra will head to the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. during the last week of May.

"I've been studying ever since the Three Rivers Bee in February," said Mishra. "I have a computer program that helps me study.... My parents also help me study."

Adeesh is a student at the Sacred Heart School in Poplar Bluff.

He is multilingual, and speaks four different languages fluently (English, Hindi, Bengali and Oriya.) Of the four, he thinks English is the most complicated.

Mishra's parents are from the east Indian state of Orissa, and have lived in Poplar Bluff for seven years.

Adeesh was born in Springfield, Mo. where his parents lived and worked for several years before relocating.

"I would like to thank Three Rivers College for sponsoring Adeesh," said Babita Patnaik, Adeesh's mother.  "Regardless of the outcome, we are thankful for this opportunity.  We're so proud of him for his hard work."

Adeesh will have his work cut out for him. This is his first year to compete, and as a sixth-grader he will be among the youngest of the contestants from all over the country and the world.

Copyright 2012 KFVS. All rights reserved.