From winning the spelling bee to U.Md. — and the full scholarship she earned too

From winning the spelling bee to U.Md. — and the full scholarship she earned too

Zaila Avant-garde won the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2021, becoming the first African American to win the nation’s premier spelling bee contest. At the time, she was living in Louisiana, but that didn’t stop University of Maryland President Darryll Pines from offering her a full scholarship to College Park. Four years later, Avant-garde is attending the University of Maryland. Her family now lives in Prince George’s County. But she never p…