Aurora's Vikram Raju Honored After Finishing 2nd At Scripps National Spelling Bee
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - Aurora threw a p-a-r-t-y for 12-year-old Vikram Raju who claimed the title of runner up at the Scripps National Spelling Bee last week. Raju lives in Aurora.
Raju competed in 17 rounds and the first ever spell-off. The Aurora Library and city officials made him "Honorary Junior Library Director" on Friday. The city recognized his passion for learning with a scholar award.
In the future, Raju wants to use his interests in medical sciences and technology to change the world for the better. He says he plans to use the $25,000 he won at the competition to pay it forward.
"I would like to donate it to some very important causes, like environmental causes, youth mental health and other humanitarian aid projects, and I would also like to save some of it for my college fund and some for whatever I want," he said.
Raju also thanked his teachers and family for their support. His mom says he might teach classes to help other kids learn to spell and compete.