COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Jim Henson, Gayle King, and Larry David are some notable alumni who attended the University of Maryland, College Park, which is now home to Zaila Avant-Garde.
If that name doesn’t sound familiar, it should.
Avant-Garde made history as the first African American girl to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2021.
One College Park student is paving the way for Black innovators
What was the word that put her in the national spotlight? Murraya—a genus of tropical plants.
She is the second Black woman to win the award. Jodi Anne Maxwell achieved this in 1998.
Maxwell was born in Kingston, Jamaica, making Avant-Garde the first American-born Black woman to do so.
Now, Avant-Garde is a student at College Park, studying cell biology and genetics.
“It’s been amazing. We’re halfway through our first semester here, and so far I’ve been having a lovely time,” she said.
“My overall career plan is to become a biomedical researcher. I plan to attend a PhD program after undergrad.”
As you can imagine, winning the spelling bee changed her life.
Not only has Avant-Garde appeared in commercials with Shaquille O’Neal, but she also secured a publishing deal with Random House, becoming a New York Times best-selling author.
“How do you manage all of that at such a young age? That seems like a lot going on in your life,” we asked.
“It’s all about time management, which is easier said than done,” she replied.
Spelling bee champion and best-selling author are not the only accolades on her resume.
Avant-Garde holds Guinness World Records in several basketball dribbling categories.
What’s next for her? When she finishes school, she hopes to work with NASA.
“One of the things I really want to do is work with NASA’s Human Research Program to help find a way for humans to inhabit other planets, such as Mars—and the Moon, which is not a planet, but you get the idea,” she explained.
The best piece of advice she can give to anyone looking to follow their dreams: “Don’t listen to people telling you that you can’t do it.”
