Anurag Kashyap, 13, of California, is interviewed after winning the 78th annual National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., on June 2, 2005. (Photo: Linda Spillers/AP Wide World )

Just 10 days after winning the 2005 Scripps National Spelling Bee, Anurag Kashyap returned home to a hero's welcome. Hundreds of his classmates had gathered on the campus quad to greet him with congratulatory signs, high-fives, and handshakes.

"Thank you so much," said Kashyap, an eighth-grader at Meadowbrook Middle School in Poway, California. "It means a lot to me that the whole school supports me."

In a matter of a week, Kashyap had gone from an ordinary middle school student to a national celebrity after he outlasted 272 of the country's top spellers at this year's spelling bee in Washington, D.C. After tying for 47th place last year, Kashyap had a modest goal—to make it to the fifth round.

Instead, the 13-year-old made it all the way to the 19th and final round and was the last speller standing. Along the way, he correctly spelled tongue-twisters like "sphygmomanometer" and "ornithrohynchous." His winning word? "Appoggiatura," which means "melodic tone."

When it comes to performing under pressure, Kashyap is a seasoned veteran. Besides participating in this year's National Spelling Bee, he has also taken part in state math and science competitions, as well as California's Geography Bee.

As a ninth-grader, Kashyap will not be eligible to compete in next year's contest. But that hasn't stopped the straight-A student from looking forward to the future.

"There's always new areas to compete in . . ." says Kashyap, who hopes to someday attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "I want to be on the debate team, and there's still math competitions and Science Olympiad . . ."

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