Did you have any idea that one of the first fossils found in North America was found right here in Columbia, SC? Evidence of the woolly mammoth was found in 1725 on a plantation named “Stono” in a swamp. They found the teeth or tusks of the woolly mammoth.

Fast forward to the year 2014 to New Zion, SC and an 8-year-old girl known as Olivia. Olivia is a very special child who has a gung-ho passion for science and when she realized that there was a need to be filled she was there with just the thing to fill it with. She knew that South Carolina was the first place in North America to find fossils of the woolly mammoth and she also knew that South Carolina didn’t have an official fossil. With those two pieces of information, this 8-year-old scientist decided that it was time to make history…and she did. Here is how 8-year-old Olivia took the woolly mammoth to the capital and had it crowned South Carolina’s official state fossil.

And, she didn’t stop there. Olivia kept fighting for what she believed was something that, according to her, “she had to fix”.

Olivia says it all when she states that if you believe in something hard enough it will come true. I do believe this spunky young scientist will make loads of headlines when she gets older. I’ll be looking forward to them. And, if nothing else, this story goes to show that determination is a power force in itself. Never stop believing in your dreams!

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