Paducah Public Schools

Hancock said she knew that she learned differently from a young age and struggled to catch up with her peers at school before being diagnosed with dyslexia in the second grade. She said while she didn’t understand what it meant at first, she did know it meant she wouldn’t be like her friends and would struggle more with reading and spelling.

“A lot of the time, I looked at my test scores, and I just did not like the way they ever turned out through elementary and middle school,” she said. “I was so hard on myself, and it was just difficult to look at myself and be like, ‘Oh, I’m not as smart as the other kids.’ But I have honestly learned to take it on as a really big blessing in my life because I would not be where I am today without me having dyslexia. I have learned a lot of hard lessons, but also I have just seen the world from a different point of view. How to read a room, when you need to stop talking when other people are talking and who your true friends are. It’s been hard, but it’s also been such a big blessing, and I don’t shy down from it now. I honestly talk about it more than I ever have before. I’ve grown to basically never judge a book by its cover because I got judged a lot.”

Hancock said she has always made an effort to push herself as a student.

“I’ve had two great parents that have been behind me in every step of my life, and it doesn’t matter what step I take in life; they’re going to be behind me to support it,” she said. “And I have an older brother, and he always did the hard AP classes, so obviously, I thought I should do those as well. I have just always pushed myself to do the harder things because if I can prove to myself that I can do hard things, then I can do anything, especially when it comes to school and reading and math. If I prove to myself that I can do some equation or read some really hard book, then I think I can accomplish anything. But it also goes with my teachers; they are all so supportive. My teachers at Tilghman have been supportive since the day I told them that I had dyslexia. I’m so glad that I’ve done every single AP class, and I’m so glad that I get to say I’m a part of Paducah Tilghman Beta Club.”

Hancock is also co-captain of the Paducah Tilghman Varsity Soccer Team and a member of several clubs at the school. She said the club that’s had the greatest impact on her is Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She said she was asked, along with a few of her friends, to take a leadership position in the club this year.

“We get together every Sunday of a month, and we have Bible study and just go over plans for our school,” she said. “I’m so glad that I get to be a part of planning the events for my school, so I can really make a difference in some kids’ lives. We always try to remember that we may be the only people that these people have ever heard talk about God. [...] Our students, we pick a lot of the speakers. We make the flyers. I just think it’s taught me social skills and just how to go upon life when I’m in the hardest times of life. It just teaches me to go to God when I need to.”

Hancock plans to attend the University of Mississippi, following in the footsteps of several of her family members. She said she plans to major in elementary education, inspired by her time interning at Clark Elementary with Mrs. Melissa Winklepleck.

“I am so glad that I was in the classroom with them,” she said. “I got all these firsthand experiences of how to deal with situations I wouldn’t ever have known how to deal with. And with me having dyslexia, it makes me think that there’s other kids out there that don’t know they have it. I just want to be the adult in their life that makes them feel seen and known. Clark just led me through such a good learning program, being there for me, and so I just want to do the same. I want to give back to the school that gave me a lot in my earlier years. I want to be that person for another student in the future.”