11-year-old, Ansh Nair, excels at many things, mostly academic. He recently emerged victorious in the Spelling Bee competition held at CC Mason Elementary School, securing first place. The real motivation came last year, when he stood 2nd in the competition in the 4th grade, after a 12 round knock-out final. Needless to say, he was proud to have accomplished first place this year. In fact, he was recently selected as the school's Star Student at their prestigious Star Banquet Dinner in April, where he represented CC Mason at the Leander ISD event. He loves his school, teachers, and friends and this made for a very memorable evening.

It was challenging to prepare for the Spelling Bee. He had to study the Scripps National Spelling Bee School Study List for 5th graders, which includes 4,000 Words for the championship. It took him 40 days to complete the list with the help of his mom, dad and grandparents. Everyone was eager to pitch in! He often remarked that words of French

origin were the toughest to comprehend.

He also has a passion for drawing and telling stories. At the age of 9, Ansh accomplished a remarkable feat by publishing his debut book, 'Santa and the Christmas Robo!' on Amazon. This achievement underscores his creativity, love for drawings and determination. You can find his book on Amazon via this link: https://www.amazon.com/Santa-Christmas-Robo-Ansh-Nair/dp/B09TDT58PY. He adores Santa and December continues to be his favorite month of the year.

He likes music and recently participated in his first signing and guitar recital at Radha School of Music. To overcome his stage fright was his biggest challenge. But he's doing well with it, which is confirming, and will continue to pursue his passion in music as he definitely wants to get better at playing the guitar.

Ansh is inquisitive and enjoys learning new things. His teachers, mentors and coaches challenge him, which further fuels his drive and determination. He's no stranger to practicing his skills whether it's working on advanced homework material or better understanding sheet music.

Not surprising, he also plays chess with a 1200+ rating. In his leisure moments, he enjoys quality time with family, indulging in travel, watching movies, dancing, drawing, and playing basketball and football with friends. 

"When I grow up I want to be a surgeon and an actor" Ansh says. We wish him all the best and can't wait to say we once knew him!