After her groundbreaking triumph at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Zaila Avant-Garde has been granted a full scholarship to Louisiana State University (LSU).
The prestigious offer came from none other than LSU’s president, William F. Tate IV, who expressed his admiration for Avant-Garde’s remarkable intellect on Twitter.
“Zaila Avant-garde @basketballasart performed at the highest level in the National Spelling Bee,” Tate tweeted on Saturday (July 10). “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!”
Avant-Garde’s historic victory at the 90th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee catapulted her into the spotlight.
Her flawless spelling of the word “murraya” not only made her the first African American to clinch the title but also garnered widespread praise from luminaries such as LeBron James and Barack Obama.
Beyond her prowess in spelling, Avant-Garde has also captured attention for her exceptional talents in basketball, holding three Guinness World Records for her skills on the court.
Despite her basketball achievements, Avant-Garde has her sights set on a future in academia, with aspirations to attend Harvard University and potentially become an NBA basketball coach.
In addition to her academic pursuits, Avant-Garde is considering a career in neuroscience and gene editing, and she has even attracted interest from NASA.
The space agency expressed their admiration for her accomplishments, tweeting, “The word is ‘star.’ Definition: Zaila Avant-garde. Congratulations on your amazing #SpellingBee win, @BasketballAsArt. We hope you’ll join the NASA family one day!”
With a bright future ahead of her and a full scholarship to LSU in hand, Avant-Garde continues to inspire awe with her multifaceted talents and boundless potential.
