Jody-Anne Maxwell, born 1986 in Kingston, Jamaica, was the 1998 Scripps National Spelling Bee winner at the age 12. She was the first non-American participant to win the competition.
Ebony magazine reports that Maxwell was also the competition’s first Black winner and was considered a celebrity upon her return to Jamaica. Maxwell was also a well-known figure in the Jamaican communities of the United States. Jody-Anne Maxwell received the same welcome as soccer stars and reggae artists when she returned to Jamaica. She has been a shining example of what is possible with hard work and determination since that time.
Maxwell qualified for Scripps by winning the National Spelling Bee Championship in Jamaica, which her older sister, Janice had won in 1990. The prizes she won for the national bee were $10,000 cash and US $11,000 in education trust funds.
Maxwell also appeared on Nickelodeon’s 1998 game show, Figure it Out. She was able to stump the judges in all three rounds.
Maxwell also went to Ardenne High school in Kingston, Jamaica.
The 12-year-old girl was not expected to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee competition. This was the second time that Jamaicans had competed. The judges and audience began to notice Maxwell’s ability however to outdo her competitors. She ended up being the first non-American winner of the championship title.
Maxwell defeated 248 contestants to win the US $10,000 grand prize. This is a great achievement for a girl who was forced to enroll in her spelling program at school two years ago.
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Maxwell was the class “head girl” at Ardenne High School. She wasn’t thrilled to be told that her duties included taking part in the spelling bee. Maxwell was told by the headmistress that she would be stripped of the “head girl” title if she refused to compete in the national spelling championship. Maxwell accepted and rose to the occasion.
Her spelling coach, Rev. Glen Archer told her father that she was talented enough to win the Nationals. He was not surprised, as the Maxwell family is full of spelling champs.
Maxwell has kept a low profile. In a 2009 newspaper interview, the then 23-year old said that she was concentrating on her studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI), to become a lawyer.
Not much have been heard of since that time but in 2018, it was announced that Maxwell had received a Doctor of Jurisprudence Law degree at the Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Maxwell’s achievement was announced by school’s Twitter page on May 29, 2018. Telecommunications Company, Flow Jamaica retweeted a tweet Maxwell had sent two days prior. Maxwell was congratulated on this latest feat.
Reverend Glen Archer, who was credited with her success in 1998 at the Scripps Howard Spelling Bee Competition Competition, has unfortunately passed away on February 15, 2015. After a lengthy illness, the Ardenne High spelling coach and educator passed away. For several years, he was also the coach for the Ardenne High Schools Challenge Quiz team.
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