Political Quotes

“I congratulate Shankari Rajagopal on her outstanding performance at the 77th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. Nevada's lone speller at the national competition, Shankari outlasted 219 of 265 contestants to earn a spot among the top 46 competitors. An eighth grader at Churchill County High School, Shankari won the Nevada State Spelling Bee in March to earn the right to participate in the national competition. She had finished 12th and 6th in the State contest the previous 2 years. Administered by The E.W. Scripps Company in conjunction with more than 250 sponsors around the world, the Scripps National Spelling Bee is the Nation's largest and longest-running educational promotion. Each sponsor organizes a spelling bee program in its community, with the local champions advancing to the finals in Washington, DC. This tremendous program helps thousands of students every year improve their spelling and expand their vocabularies through a fun competition. I was able to visit with Shankari an hour before her last day of competition. She was relaxed and satisfied with her tremendous accomplishment, as well she should be. I was very impressed with her parents who came to Washington, DC, to support her. They too were proud of what she had accomplished, and this helped to put her at ease.”