Nevertheless, it took Pennington nine years to get his postgraduate degrees at the University of California-Berkeley.
Hell, nine years isn't too bad for a PhD in my book!
I was hoping your friend might have been the winner the year that I competed in the National Spelling Bee, but it looks like he won in 1986---I was there in 1984. I bombed out on my second word, though. (Didn't study even a little.) He might have been there in '84, though--the winners often compete for a few years before they win.
