San Angelo whiz kid Akash Vukoti talks Dancing With the Stars and future plans

SAN ANGELO — San Angelo spelling bee legend Akash Vukoti has been busy lately.

From competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May, to participating on Dancing With the Stars Juniors in October, Vukoti had his plate full. He doesn't mind all of the national attention. In fact, he loves it.

"I love all of the media attention, it's my most fun part," Vukoti said. "For me, I think of it as two different paths and I'm just in the middle. One path is the media and one is competing. The two paths stay fluent and never obstruct each other."

Vukoti was eliminated in the seventh round of Dancing With The Stars Juniors on Nov. 18. While he didn't win it all, Vukoti said it was a time he'll never forget.

VIDEO:Akash Vukoti: The Spelling Bee Whiz

"Being on the show itself was a really amazing experience for me," Vukoti said. "By far, the best memory I could've made on the show was getting to to meet my dance partner Kamri Peterson and my mentor Witney Carson."

Akash said he loved working with Peterson because she would always encourage him to do the best he could.

At the moment, Vukoti doesn't have any national trips planned, and said he's going to play that by ear. However, he does plan to keep participating in spelling bees throughout his next five years of eligibility. He also doesn't have any plans to move away from San Angelo any time soon.

"San Angelo is where my success really took off, so I want to stay here so I can keep representing this town," Vukoti said. "I want to make San Angelo famous and put it on the world map."

Vukoti's success in spelling has led to a lot of national attention, which has gotten him close to a few celebrities, such as Iain Armitage, who stars in The Big Bang Theory spinoff, Young Sheldon. 

LOOK BACK:Akash Vukoti to represent San Angelo in 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee

"I met Iain on Little Big Shots three years ago and we became really good friends," Vukoti said.

He said Armitage, as well as a lot of other celebrities he meets aren't as pompous as people might think.

If you've followed Vukoti's story, you probably know he started spelling competitively at age two. But, did you know why he started? Vukoti said he found his passion while spelling three-letter words at a library in Cleveland, Ohio.

"This actually all started when I was a really little baby," Vukoti said. "We used to live in Cleveland. While we were there, when I was about one, we would go to the library every week to rent books. While there, I found an alphabet mat. I started make random three-letter words with the mat and I was fascinated with it. That's where my interest in spelling started."

When his dad, Krishna Vukoti, saw this, he thought Akash would enjoy competing in spelling bees. He helped Akash get started in spelling, and he competed in his first bee in Virginia while still in diapers.

THROWBACK:San Angelo Spelling Bee names new winner

"At that time, he didn't know how to write, so we had to train him to hold a pencil," Krishna said.

"The environment my parents provided me with taught me to write very quickly," Akash said.

Another fact you may not know is he scored an IQ of 156 at the age of 3? That score is considered genius by Wilderdom.com. He is also the youngest member of the Mensa High IQ Society.

"During that spelling bee, people from Mensa approached us and said 'we should test him for his IQ," Krishna said. "When we got home, we called the psychologist and got him tested him, he was only about two."

The psychologist told them it wasn't possible to test him at such a young age. However, his parents were able to eventually arrange a test.

GOOD TIMES:San Angelo speller getting attention, having fun at national bee

Akash studied for the test two hours a day. This studying, as well as his already bright mind, got him into the High IQ Society. His sister, who was just a few years older, also is a member.

Vukoti said he plans to do big things when he grows up.

"I want to become an astronaut and an actor," Akash said. "But that could change. I mean, I'm only nine."

Another dream for him is to become a TV show host. Some of the people he would model after are Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos, Jeopardy's Alex Tribek and Dancing With the Stars' Tom Bergeron.

These are some big dreams, but for now, he just wants to focus on perfecting his spelling bee craft so he can win a National Spelling Bee one day.

RELATED COVERAGE:

San Angelo spelling bee whiz Akash Vukoti to compete in 'Dancing With the Stars: Juniors'

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