News

First African American to Win National Spelling Bee Overwhelmed With Scholarship Offers

Zaila Avant-Garde, a 14-year old from Harvey, Louisiana, has made history as the first African American winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Since then, universities from all across the country have been offering her full-ride scholarships.

Zaila won the historic championship after correctly spelling the word “Murraya,” a type of tree, in the final round. She bested 208 contestants from 5 countries. Soon thereafter, Zaila began receiving full-ride scholarships one after another.

Southern University President Ray L. Belton took to Twitter, “I am pleased to announce that @Southernu_BR is offering #ZailaAvantgarde a full scholarship and “#Zaila Day” at SU, part of the nation’s only #HBCU system. Our student leaders, faculty, and alumni look forward to meeting with you. We welcome you to the #JaguarNation!”

Louisiana State University President William Tate also wrote on Twitter, “Zaila Avant-garde @basketballasart performed at the highest level in the National Spelling Bee. Your academic performance reflected scholarship first! You modeled intellectual excellence. @LSU_Honors awaits. I write to offer you a full scholarship to attend LSU. Here for you!”

Louisiana Community and Technical College System posted on its Facebook page, “In celebration of her incredible performance at the National Spelling Bee, LCTCS is proud to offer Zaila Avant-garde a full scholarship to any Louisiana community and technical college. We believe our programs, such as aerospace technology, would be a great fit for you,”

Meanwhile, Zaila, who also holds 3 Guinness World Records for her basketball s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s, expressed her interest to attend Harvard University to play college basketball. She plans to pursue a career in Neuroscience or Gene Editing. She says wants to either work for NASA one day or play for the  NBA.

Related Posts

Sam Cooke: African-American Singer Known as the “King of Soul”

Samuel “Sam” Cooke was a Black American recording artist and singer-songwriter, generally considered among the greatest of all time was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in Clarksdale, MS, on this date in…

Ella Sheppard – A Black musician, vocalist, and educator.

Ella Sheppard (February 4, 1851 – June 9, 1914) was an American soprano, pianist, composer, and arranger of spirituals. She was the matriarch of the original Fisk Jubilee…

Cynthia Lynne Cooper-Dyke – One of the greatest female basketball players ever.

Cynthia Cooper-Dyke (𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 April 14, 1963, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.) is an American basketball player who was the first Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). In the WNBA’s inaugural season (1997), Cooper-Dyke led…

Juanita Moore: the Oscar nominee who fought stereotypes and racism

The Imitation of Life star was pigeonholed and undervalued by Hollywood but years later, she is finally receiving the recognition she deserves “Iwent through a hell of a…

Henry Ossian Flipper – First African American graduate of West Point

Henry Ossian Flipper, 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 into slavery in Thomasville, Georgia, in 1856, becomes the first African American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New…

Carl Anthony Payne II’s Wife: Meet Melika Payne, the Woman Who Ditched Bobby Brown for the ‘Martin’ Star

Carl Anthony Payne II and his wife Melika Payne are one of Hollywood’s quietest and longest-running married couples. But their marriage has not been without bumps and controversy, including…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *