Zaila Avant-garde the FIRST African-American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee

Zaila Avant-garde wins the Scripps National Spelling Bee

Thursday in the ESPN-televised national finals,14-year-old Zaila Avant-garde from Harvey, Louisiana, won the Scripps National Spelling Bee, making her the first African-American to win the prestigious honor.





Well-rounded Avant-gard, a basketball prodigy has earned more recognition for her athletic prowess than her achievements in spelling. She is has appeared in a commercial with Stephen Curry and owns three Guinness world records for dribbling multiple balls simultaneouslyโ€”with hopes of attending Harvard, play in the WNBA, and possibly coach won days in the NBA, thatโ€™s if she doesnโ€™t go to work for NASA.





Competitive spelling came relatively late in life, starting at age 12.





โ€œBasketball, I’m not just playing it. I’m really trying to go somewhere with it. Basketball is what I do,โ€ Zaila said. โ€œSpelling is really a side thing I do. It’s like a little hors d’ouevre. But basketball’s like the main dish.โ€ As quoted in NOLA.Com.

Don’t be mistaken: Zaila brings the same competitive fire to spelling that she shows on court. She won last year’s Kaplan-Hexco Online Spelling Bee โ€” one of several bees that emerged during the pandemic after Scripps canceled last year โ€” and used the $10,000 first prize to pay for study materials and $130-an-hour sessions with a private tutor, 2015 Scripps runner-up Cole Shafer-Ray.





The time commitment required to master roots, language patterns and definitions is what keeps many top spellers from seriously pursuing sports or other activities. But Zaila, who is home-schooled, claims to have it figured out.





โ€œFor spelling, I usually try to do about 13,000 words (per day), and that usually takes about seven hours or so,โ€ she said. โ€œWe don’t let it go way too overboard, of course. I’ve got school and basketball to do.โ€

Zaila โ€” whose father changed her last name to Avant-garde in honor of jazz musician John Coltrane โ€” says as the first Black American champion, her win has chartered a new career path for spellers. The only previous Black winner of the bee was also the only international winner: Jody-Anne Maxwell of Jamaica in 1998.

Congratulations, you make us all proud!

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