Zaila Avante-garde last Thursday night correctly spelled "murraya," which is a genus of flowering plants found in Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. The correct spelling won Avante-garde the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee championship.

Avante-garde, a 13-year-old from Harvey, Louisiana—a southern suburb of New Orleans—became the first African American student to win the prestigious championship.

After Avante-garde correctly spelled the word "M-U-R-R-A-Y-A" she was greeted by an astounding, "That is correct!" Avante-garde jumped and completely turned a 360 in celebration, and then stood still as a barrage of confetti shot from the air. She twirled again as the newest champion.

8th grader Zaila Avant-Garde also holds 3 Guinness World records related to basketball!!!