Nayara de Silva-Ahmed, 13, has attended since she was one. She knows the school, the campus, the students and the teachers. When she was in fifth grade, things weren't the same. The COVID-19 pandemic brought business shutdowns and virtual education.

Her parents, who are doctors, didn't take any chances. They kept her at home for her fifth grade education. She was in school with five students. Then there were three. Her brothers Nadal and Niran were her playmates.

Nayara is curious, focused and determined. "I'm always trying to set goals," she told me. Spelling might not seem to be connected to her current career ambitions — she's considering medicine, writing and working with animals. But good spellers and people who have a way with words can often have their way with career options.

In 2022, Nayara competed in her school spelling bee. She placed third but was not deterred. She competed in the New Orleans Chapter of the Links Inc.'s regional spelling bee. She didn't make the final rounds. She was not deterred. 

On Feb. 9, she returned to her school's spelling bee. She placed first. As soon as that bee ended, Nayara started preparing for a much bigger event. She put in the work, studied a list of about 1,000 words with her coach-mom, Dr. Taniya de Silva.

Nayara's aim was to do better in the regional spelling bee hosted by the Links. That event and the Scripps National Spelling Bee were canceled in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic began to rage with no vaccines. The 2021 and 2022 spelling bee competitions were hosted virtually.

The New Orleans Links chapter hosted the regional Scripps National Spelling Bee competition in-person at Dillard University on Saturday for the first time since 2019.

It was the first time in three years that the chapter held the event in a place where fourth-through-eighth-grade spellers could see their competitors, parents, callers, judges, room monitors and Links sisters. I participated as a judge. It was wonderful to see 89 young students with race-car-like numbers hanging around their necks stepping up on the Georges Auditorium stage to take a crack at spelling some challenging words from a list of hundreds.

After a morning and an afternoon of competition, Naraya finished first. She cried as she sat in a chair on stage, realizing that her hard work had paid off.

As the No. 1 speller locally, she gets an all-expenses paid trip to compete in the 2023 national spelling bee at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. Though the preliminary competition is scheduled for May 30 and the final competition is set for June 1, Nayara and her colleague spellers will have lots to do during Bee Week, including educational workshops and sightseeing.

Nayara has her priorities in order. "I'm really excited because I get to spend a lot of time with my mom and my family," she told me Tuesday.

New Orleans Links chapter president Tracey Flemings-Davillier, a judge at Criminal District Court, said her chapter has hosted the spelling bee for some 34 years. It started with a group of Links sisters who decided to do more to fulfill one of the organization's five key facets — service to youth. The first spelling bee was held at the old John F. Kennedy High School. The event grew rapidly, ultimately including spellers from seven south Louisiana parishes.

In 2021, the chapter sent its spelling bee winner to the national Scripps event. Harvey's  added Scripps National Spelling Bee champion to her growing list of achievements, becoming the first winner from Louisiana and the first African-American winner. 

The chapter hopes Nayara will be the next national champion.

The Links chapter made it through the pandemic to return to hosting an in-person event. Nayara made it through the pandemic to reach one of her goals. 

Even those of us who have been most cautious with COVID are carefully returning to some form of normalcy.

The local Links chapter is an example of folks moving through a tough stretch, being determined and focused on not losing an important signature event.

I was honored to serve as a judge, and I join the Links in congratulating Nayara and encouraging her as she studies hundreds more words in preparation for late May and early June.

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@theadvocate.com, or follow him on Twitter, @willsutton.

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