WHIZ KIDS OFF TO D.C.; SPELLING CHAMPS TO TOUR LANDMARKS.

Byline: Yvette Cabrera Daily News Staff Writer

Karina Bedolla has lived most of her short life in the San Fernando Gardens housing projects, in an area besieged by the problems of most urban neighborhoods - shootings, gang crime and poverty.

But despite the obstacles, Karina, 9, and two fellow Valley students, Vanda Ayrapetyan, 11, and Emilio Fuentes, 13, are winners. Spelling bee winners.

Today, the triumphant trio will leave for a trip to Washington, D.C. The three are being rewarded for nabbing the first-prize spots in their age groups at the fifth annual Los Angeles Housing Authority's spelling bee.

``There are socioeconomic issues these children are dealing with, but in my mind it's not a barrier to succeed in life,'' said Mario Matute, project director at the San Fernando Gardens Community Service Center.

The three San Fernando Valley students will travel to the U.S. capital as personal guests of Rep. Howard Berman, D-Mission Hills, who has arranged tours of the White House, the National Archives, FBI headquarters and the House and Senate galleys.

Determined to meet President Clinton, Karina studied 132 words dutifully every night for two weeks with her mother, Bertha Bedolla, to prepare for the spelling bee, which was held April 18 at the Panorama City Mall.

Though Karina burst into tears shortly before she went on stage for the competition, the Pacoima Elementary school student gathered her composure and went on to capture first place for the third- and fourth-grade division.

Still, she was too shy to talk about her victory and her trip, so her mother had to explain.

``When she found out they were going to offer the trip to Washington, she got excited, but we never thought she'd be able to go,'' Bedolla said.

Three years ago, when Emilio began taking reading, tutoring and computer classes at the Community Service Center, he lacked skills in spelling and other areas, Matute said.

Determined, Emilio began showing up every day at the center and made a 180-degree turn, Matute said. Today, he is a two-time first-place spelling bee winner who captured the No. 1 spot this year by spelling the word ``hazardous.''

The trip will mark the first time he has left the state since he emigrated here from Mexico five years ago with his family, now residents at San Fernando Gardens.

``I want to look at Washington, I want to see the whole city,'' said Emilio, a seventh-grader at Maclay Middle School in Pacoima.

Vanda, who lives in Hollywood, was always one to ace her spelling tests at school, but when the middle-school student decided to enter her first spelling bee at the last minute, she knew it would be a challenge.

``I was nervous and I kept telling myself even if I lose I'm not going to feel like a failure,'' said Vanda, a sixth-grader at James Madison Junior High School's medical magnet program in North Hollywood.

But Vanda had history on her side. From a young age, her mother, Svetlana Ayrapetyan, has instilled a thirst for knowledge in her daughter. She bought Vanda a children's encyclopedia set on her 5th birthday and today takes her to bookstore cafes where Vanda spends hours with her nose buried in books.

Vanda, Emilio and Karina will be joined by first- and second-grade division winner Yosef Kidane, 7, of Culver City, and two chaperones for the Washington trip. The Housing Authority is covering air fare, hotel, food and transportation costs.

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PHOTO Vanda Ayrapetyan, 11, left, Karina Bedolla, 9, and Emilio Fuentes, 13, are headed to Washington, D.C., today after capturing top honors in a citywide spelling bee.

Michael Owen Baker/Daily News