Every year around this time, as the top young spellers from around the country brush up on their parts of speech, languages of origin and pronunciations, Ananya Vinay ’27 reminisces about the year she learned the power of language, composure and intellectual curiosity.
“My winning word was ‘marocain,’ a type of silk fabric,” she says from London, where she studied abroad this spring.
“M-A-R-O-C-A-I-N.”
Vinay won the Scripps National Spelling Bee at 12—a fun fact she says she often used for icebreakers her first year at Pomona.
After defeating 290 other finalists in 2017, the Fresno, California, sixth grader rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, met the Prime Minister of India, appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and was featured in the 2020 Netflix documentary “Spelling the Dream.”
For all she did at 12, Vinay’s accomplished even more since.
She founded the coaching company SpellGenius following her victory and then collaborated with the Fresno County of Education to launch Project Ignite for students from underprivileged schools with dreams of going to the Bee.
In Project Ignite, which she funded with Bee proceeds and SpellGenius earnings, Vinay set out to replicate the generosity of the elementary school teachers whose volunteered time and support helped get her to the country’s preeminent spelling competition.
“I wanted to help provide extra tutoring in rural areas of Fresno that didn’t have a library or consistent access to internet,” she says. “I wanted to help kids who may have things they want to explore but don’t know how.”
As formative as the years before and after her Bee win were, Vinay says her three years at Pomona “have really helped me grow in a lot of ways.”
During the pandemic, she turned toward creative writing, publishing a poetry collection, Dewdrops On The Mind, reflecting on childhood, isolation and uncertainty during a formative period of her life.
Vinay parlayed that experience into a features writer role at The Student Life newspaper, for which she’s written close to 50 articles.
While at Pomona, she’s truly flourished, confidently building new connections and enthusiastically contributing to class discussions. As a chemistry mentor and sponsor, she’s also grown into a supportive and engaged leader within the campus community.
“Those interests have become increasingly interconnected,” she says, adding that her work as both a journalist and researcher has deepened her appreciation for thoughtful communication and scientific rigor alike.
Vinay, a neuroscience major, has become exceedingly adaptable and collaborative—in the lab, especially. In February, Biophysical Journal published a paper she co-authored with classmates concerning LRP-1 fibrinogen interactions.
“Learning how to effectively work with another person’s strengths is a very valuable skill that I’ve picked up both in class and in the research lab,” she says. “The environment at Pomona is very nurturing and welcoming, and that’s helped me grow.”
“My time at Pomona has been transformational.”
Faculty mentorship and Pomona’s interdisciplinary environment have also shaped Vinay’s evolving interest in medicine and translational research.
She’s interning this summer in the molecular oncology lab at Johns Hopkins University, an extension of her lab work with Professor of Chemistry Malkiat Johal and Benjamin Rosenberg, visiting assistant professor of neuroscience, as well as her clinical research internship at Mayo Clinic.
As this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee unfolds in Washington, D.C., May 26-28, Vinay plans to attend the festivities to reconnect with old friends, rekindle warm memories and perhaps, instinctively, mouth a word or two from her seat.
“I look back on that time very fondly,” she says. “I learned how to speak publicly and developed an extensive vocabulary, and afterwards, I was able to do so many cool things. It was incredibly life-changing and an experience I deeply treasure.”