ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Are you smarter than a fifth grader?

An 11-year-old DeKalb County elementary student landed third place in the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Sarv Dharavane, a 5th grader at Austin Elementary School in Dunwoody, made history as the first Georgia finalist in over 25 years.

Dharavane successfully made it through 19 rounds before incorrectly spelling the word “eserine.”

The mighty speller still has a few years left of age eligibility to make his return to the bee.

For now, he says he enjoys folding origami and is on a mission to fold 1,000 paper cranes.

Copyright 2025 WANF. All rights reserved.