What happened at the bee
The Associated Press report carried by The Boston Globe on 28 May 2015, "Ten make finals of 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee", covers the year Muthusamy reached the closing rounds. The research record for this page places him in a tie for seventh, eliminated on 'tartarean', an adjective derived from Tartarus, the underworld of Greek myth.
Two years later he was among the spellers identified in advance as contenders. An AP dispatch carried by NBC New York on 29 May 2017, headlined "National Spelling Bee Becoming Easier to P-R-E-D-I-C-T", described a competition in which serious study programmes had made the strongest children identifiable before the first round. The research record notes that he reached the final fifteen that year. Four national appearances is an unusual total: eligibility ends after the eighth grade, so a speller must qualify through a regional bee, against an entire city or region, in four separate years.
'Spelling the Dream'
In 2020 Netflix released "Spelling the Dream", following four young spellers, Muthusamy among them, through the season. The New York Times reviewed it on 3 June 2020 under the headline "Words of Inspiration". The Guardian reviewed it the following day, calling it a slight but charming documentary.
The film's subject was not only the competition but the pattern behind it: the dominance of Indian-American children at the bee across two decades, and the family effort, coaching and study hours that produce it. That framing is what carried the film beyond the spelling audience and into general review pages.
What the film showed about the work
Competitive spelling at national level is not a vocabulary test. It is a study of language origins: a speller who hears an unfamiliar word asks for its etymology, its part of speech and its use in a sentence, and reconstructs the spelling from patterns in Latin, Greek, French or German.
That is why the AP could write, by 2017, that the bee had become easier to predict. The children at the top are the ones who have worked through structured word lists for years, often with paid coaching or family drilling. The documentary's value was in showing that labour rather than the two minutes of television at the end of it.
Where Tejas Muthusamy is now
No source gathered for this page documents his life after 2020: no university, no career, no interview. His date of birth is not stated in any source read here, and the research record carries no birth year.
The research record also found no standalone Wikipedia article about him. What exists is a run of contemporary bee coverage and two national film reviews, and this page keeps within them.
Why the bee keeps producing famous children
The Scripps bee is one of the few American competitions that make children nationally visible for an intellectual skill, broadcast live, with a single word ending each career. That structure creates a durable audience and a durable literature, from newspaper wire copy to feature documentaries.
It also creates a strange afterlife. A speller is famous for a fortnight at thirteen and then unsearchable at twenty. The honest record of Tejas Muthusamy is four years of qualifying, a seventh place, a documentary, and silence afterwards, and that is what this page reports.
Watch: Tejas Muthusamy on camera
| 人物 | 国家 | 里程碑 | 年龄 / 数据 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arvind Mahankali | 美国 | 13岁赢得2013年斯克里普斯全国拼字大赛 | 13岁 |
| Kerry Close | 美国 | 13岁赢得2006年斯克里普斯全国拼字大赛 | 13岁 |
| Hugh Tosteson García | 波多黎各（美国） | 1975年全国拼字大赛冠军 | 14岁 |
| Tejas Muthusamy | 美国 | 四次参加斯克里普斯全国拼字大赛以及Netflix纪录片…… | — |
| Roy Seligman | 巴哈马 | 第一位从巴哈马参加斯克里普斯全国拼字大赛的选手…… | — |
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- He competed at the Scripps National Spelling Bee and reached the closing rounds in 2015 (AP, Boston Globe)
- He was among the spellers identified as contenders in AP's 2017 coverage
- He is one of four children followed in Netflix's 'Spelling the Dream' (2020)
- The film was reviewed by The New York Times on 3 June 2020 and The Guardian on 4 June 2020
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- No source read states his age or date of birth
- The tie for seventh and the exit word 'tartarean' come from the research record rather than a page read in full
- Nothing documents his education or work after 2020
Questions people ask about Tejas Muthusamy
How old is Tejas Muthusamy?
No source read for this page states his age or date of birth.
Did Tejas Muthusamy win the National Spelling Bee?
No. His best documented finish is a tie for seventh in 2015.
What word knocked him out in 2015?
'Tartarean', according to the research record for this page.
What is 'Spelling the Dream'?
A Netflix documentary released in 2020 that follows four young spellers, Muthusamy among them. It was reviewed by The New York Times and The Guardian.
How many times did he compete nationally?
Four times, according to the research record. Eligibility ends after the eighth grade, so each appearance required winning a regional bee.
Is Tejas Muthusamy on Wikipedia?
The research record found no standalone Wikipedia article about him.
Where is Tejas Muthusamy now?
No source gathered here documents his studies or work after 2020.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Tejas’s story?
What is Tejas Muthusamy's best documented finish at the national bee?
Which documentary features him?
Which word ended his 2015 run?
Sources
- 'Spelling the Dream' Review: Words of Inspiration — The New York Times, 2020-06-03
- Spelling the Dream review - slight but charming Netflix documentary — The Guardian, 2020-06-04
- National Spelling Bee Becoming Easier to P-R-E-D-I-C-T — NBC New York (AP), 2017-05-29
- Ten make finals of 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee — The Boston Globe (AP), 2015-05-28
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
