Avien Abney
ORANGE, NJ — The New Jersey Association for Gifted Children is honoring Avien Abney, of Orange, as the 2021 NJAGC Distinguished Student of the Year in the grades three through five grouping.
Avien, age 10, is an honor student at Heywood Avenue Elementary School in Orange. He plays basketball with the Jersey Angels basketball team, swims competitively for Deep End Swim Club in Newark and has won awards for playing chess with the Newark Chess Club.
Avien is an award-winning author, having written “Random Thoughts: How Reading Helped Me Make Sense of My Thinking” with his father, Virgil Abney; Avien was named a Readers Favorite Five-Star Award Winning Author. He is currently gearing up for an April release of his second book, “Why Do We Fall?” Avien has been a celebrity reader for a number of schools, organizations and corporations.
The NJAGC is the state chapter of the National Association for Gifted Children. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to advocating for the needs of gifted children through programs and educator professional development, networks and legislative action in New Jersey.
The NJAGC Distinguished Student Awards were created to inspire gifted students to reach their full potential, highlight students with exceptional abilities and draw attention to the educational needs of New Jersey’s gifted students.
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