Zaila Avant-garde cemented herself in history books — and she’s not done yet
By Jenyne Donaldson
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BALTIMORE, Maryland (WBAL) — An exceptional young woman who cemented herself in the history books has a bright future ahead.
The saying goes, hard work pays off, and Zaila Avant-garde has taken that to the max.
At 18, Avant-garde is already a national spelling bee winner, a bestselling author of multiple books, and a two-time Guinness World Records winner, among other accomplishments.
At the age of 14 in 2021, Avant-garde became the first African American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
“One of the motivations that I had was sort of knowing the history of African Americans in spelling bees, and I definitely sort of wanted to be the first African American to win,” Avant-garde told 11 News.
With the help of two tutors and a program, she studied 13,000 words for seven hours a day leading up to the competition. Now, her banner hangs in the Hall of Champions.
But she has also stood outside the winner’s circle, looking in.
“It was in 2019 when I went and I got about 439th place or something, but that’s OK. Small steps,” Avant-garde told 11 News.
The loss sparked a fire.
Avant-garde published five books, becoming a New York Times bestselling author. Her first book, “It’s Not Bragging if it’s True,” is described as an empowering collection of true stories. Avant-garde called it “a big sister guide.”
“Building self-confidence and, you know, learning how to embrace yourself and who you are as a person and things like that. Kind of like a guide with, like, lots of anecdotes from my personal experience,” Avant-garde told 11 News.
Now, Avant-garde is starting her first semester on a full scholarship at the University of Maryland, studying cell biology and genetics with plans to become a biomedical researcher — and even the sky’s not the limit as she sets her sights some 239,000 miles away.
“One of my dreams is to work for NASA, specifically for their human research program, kind of like researching ways to make it possible for humans to live in long-term colonies on Mars,” Avant-garde told 11 News.
She admitted it sounds a little far-fetched, but when she points to who and what motivated her, she knows anything is possible.
“(In) 2020, when the Nobel Prize in chemistry, I believe, was awarded to Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, it was about CRISPR,” Avant-garde said.
CRISPR is a method of genome editing that researchers developed to change DNA with extreme precision. Avant-garde said it sparked her passion for science when she learned the research was used to transform the quality of life for a Mississippi woman living with sickle cell anemia.
Meanwhile, she’s exploring new goals.
“Something that I’m kind of interested in is actually getting another Guinness World Record,” Avant-garde told 11 News.
She already has three Guinness World Records for most basketballs dribbled simultaneously, most basketball bounces in 30 seconds and most bounce juggles in one minute.
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