In a nail-biting finish with just five others late in the evening of May 31, Hicksville Middle School eighth grader Prateek Kohli made it to Round 9 of the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC. The crowd at the Grand Hyatt was hushed and millions across the country and the world watched the live ABC primetime broadcast as each of the final five approached the microphone for their next word.

Of the three students to receive their words before him, one was eliminated. When it was his turn, Prateek carried his grandfather's memory with him as he listened for his next word - "Oberek." Prateek carefully repeated the word several times, asked for its definition and pondered his options. He spoke each letter carefully, but misspelled the ending by one letter. The next competitor also missed her word, leaving two boys remaining - a Canadian and the eventual winner, Evan O'Dorney of California.

Hicksville's own had finished tied for third place in the most prestigious spelling bee in the nation. However, to truly appreciate Prateek's success in this year's competition and the stratified excellence of his skills, it is important to examine the competition a bit more closely.

The annual Scripp's National Spelling Bee is, in fact, an international event, this year drawing finalists from as far away as New Zealand. It is also impressive to note that eleven million students participated in this year's competition. They began competing at the school level, moving through the district, regional and state levels, completing both oral and written spelling tests. Only a handful of the original 11 million earned a spot in the Washington, DC finals - 286 to be exact.

What made Prateek's journey all the more difficult than other aspiring top spellers was the declining health of his beloved mentor, "Papaji", his grandfather, who was stricken with a stroke on May 17. Prateek left for the Washington competition on May 26 with the knowledge his grandfather was gravely ill. Prateek called to speak with him shortly after arriving at the finals. Soon after Ved Raj Kohli spoke with his grandson, he fell into a coma and passed away the next evening.

Prateek keep his focus strong, however, knowing his grandfather was watching over him and wanted Prateek to do his best.

Over the final two days of competition, 271 more spellers were eliminated until the final 15 remained. During a brief break from the lights, cameras, judges and the esoteric spelling words few have ever heard of, these final 15 enjoyed a trip to the White House and an introduction to First Lady Laura Bush who had arranged a spelling bee of her own, and asked Prateek to spell the word "gubernatorial" which he did, correctly and without hesitation.

Back for the international broadcast at 8pm, the final 15 prepared for Round 7. When it was his turn, before the live audience and on live television, Prateek approached the microphone for his next word. With his right hand in his pocket where he could hold the photo of his grandfather, and composed with an inner strength apparent to all, he spelled his Round 7 word, "rigareee," correctly. Eight other students were eliminated in Round 7 with another two eliminated in Round 8 where Prateek correctly spelled "randkluft.

In Round 9, with only five spellers left, Prateek later reflected that he knew his word, but was tripped up by the ending. Prateek spelled the word "o-b-e-r-o-k," a Polish folk dance, incorrectly. The correct spelling is "o-b-e-r-e-k" - a distinction the eighth grader will never forget.

In addition to appearing on ABC and ESPN during the live coverage of this year's competition, Prateek's top placing in the 2007 competition garnered him appearances on Fox 5's Good Day, NY and News 12. He also completed multiple print media interviews over the course of the past week and, on June 4, his first day back to school. Hicksville's spelling bee hero discussed his experience with members of his middle school English class. At this time, Prateek was congratulated by English teacher Regina Ivory and Principal Richard Banyon. An ice cream party was thrown in his honor because "third in the nation is something to be pretty proud of" and, throughout it all, Prateek kept his composure, sense of humor and quiet dignity, making Hicksville proud.