14-Year Old Zaila Avant-Garde Becomes the First African American Winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee
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Posted By: Kennedy Williams on July 09, 2021 14-year old Zaila Avant-garde made history yesterday when she became the first African American winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee after successfully spelling the word "murraya." The only other Black winner in 93 editions of the competition was Jody-Anne Maxwell and she was representing Jamaica when she won in 1998. Zalia recalled how she felt when the confetti fell and she realized she won, telling CNN's New Day, "It felt really good to win because I have been working on it for like two years. So to actually win the whole thing was like a dream come true. I felt like in the moment I snapped out of a surreal dream." This bright young lady beat out over 200 other spellers ages 9-15 and reigning from the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Japan, and the US. Her triumphant win earned a $50,000 cash prize. As if it weren't clear by her incredible spelling abilities, the 14-year old has a bright future ahead of her. When asked what she hopes to be when she grows up, Zalia told CNN that she hopes to one day play basketball at Harvard, and then pursue a career at NASA or become an NBA coach. She also mentioned a career in neuroscience or gene editing. As far as what's next for her, Zalia says, "I'll find something else to do. Trust me." If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Kennedy Williams
From Loganville, GA Spelman College class of 2020 Member Since July 2016 |
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