Kansas Student, 13, Wins US National Spelling Bee

Kavya correctly spelled the word "laodicean," meaning lukewarm or indifferent in politics or religion. Kavya who had previously competed the past three years and has been studying for six says it was a long journey.

"Right now I'm feeling really excited, ectstatic, and it's hard to describe. This will probably help me in the future, because I've learned so many things, so many roots, and not only that, I've learned discipline, focus and I've learned a lot of things that I could carry on in life," she said.

The eighth grader from the state of Kansas won more than $40,000 in cash and prizes and a dazzling gold trophy.

Like several other contestants, Kavya's parents emigrated to the United States from another country and is the seventh Indian-American to win the trophy in the last 10 years. Her father Mirle Shivashankar says for children of immigrants, education is key. "Education is what we primarily focus on, working hard and continuing to work hard yields results," he said.