Gwinnett Daily Post

Staff Photo: John Bohn Rohan Ramdeholl, 11, a student at North Gwinnett Middle School, is a district spelling bee finalist. Ramdehol is learning to play a saxaphone.

SUWANEE -- Even when their son was in second grade, Maxine and Raj Ramdeholl knew he was smart.

"He'd be walking around the house spelling 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,'" Maxine said. "He's always been pushing himself with a challenge, even from a young age."

Now, 11, Rohan Ramdeholl, placed in the top 12 in the Gwinnett County Public Schools spelling bee last weekend, an event which narrowed the top 92 spellers in the district down to an elite few.

Ramdeholl will join the other Gwinnett finalists in advancing to the District 3 Spelling Bee, held Feb. 25 at North Gwinnett High School.

It marks the young contender's second time attending the district bee as one of the county's 12 finalists.

Raj is proud of his son for his accomplishments.

"Rohan is very academically focused, and he has a lot of self motivation," Raj said. "We're very excited for him, and it's a great feeling."

Maxine said when Rohan took the stage for the GCPS spelling bee, "we had a feeling he was going to make it as a finalist. We just knew it somehow."

Reflecting on the words that have stumped him in the past, young Rohan said he's planning for whatever the judges can throw his way on Feb. 25.

Two that have stumped him: "Androcentric" and "reciprocate."

Smiling, the 11-year-old can easily spell the words for you now.

"I plan on doing a lot of studying, maybe one to two hours a day, for the next spelling bee," the boy said.

Mom and dad, and brother, Brendon, 14, are all pulling for him.

"We think he's a good role model for young students," Raj said. "He wants to be a doctor. He's already planning it out. He's already talking about his career, and he reads a lot of medical books."

Added Raj: "We think it's great that he is so motivated, and at such a young age, too."