by Levi Brandenburg
The Paducah Sun
November 15, 2022
Used with permission.
Paducah Tilghman High School senior Coy Booker stands with his community, wanting to help it in any way that he can.
Booker, a Paxton Scholar, has long known that he wanted to help people and be a role model to as many as he can.
“I think I’m all about just helping other people really,” he said. “It’s really what I’m passionate about, making sure that everybody has the same opportunities no matter what their background is, because I’ve come from a lot of different backgrounds myself.”
Booker, 17, serves in many extracurricular activities at Paducah Tilghman, including serving as a leader in the Boys 2 Gentlemen Club, a member of the African American Leadership Club, a student ambassador for Paducah Tilghman and much more.
“We moved here from Bardstown in 2019 and I have been at Tilghman ever since then,” he said. “It’s been a good experience. I’ve met a lot of new people and gotten really involved in clubs and extracurriculars in the community.”
Booker currently serves as president of the Student Equity Advisory Council.
“Our mission statement is advocating the student voice by fostering inclusivity for all demographics,” he said.
“We make sure everyone has the same opportunities, even if you’re a student, teacher, administrators, staff. We make sure not only that everyone’s voice and concerns are heard, but considered and assessed. I believe that in the past, there’s been a lot of decisions made for students without the student voice. One of our main goals is just making sure that we’re there and we’re present when those decisions are being made. It’s been very humbling just to hear from peers, from freshmen to seniors — all their different concerns and the values that we share and don’t share.”
Booker also talked about the importance of a male role model.
“My mother has been my best friend my entire life. But there are things that my mother cannot teach me,” he said. “I had to figure out what a good man looked like. What the definition of a gentleman was or how to be a good father.”
This is one of the reasons that Booker joined other clubs like Boys 2 Gentlemen and the African American Leadership Club.
“I joined it last year,” he said. “(At Boys 2 Gentlemen meetings,) we have mentors who come from outside of the community, different for every meeting. We’ve had doctors, priests and pastors and coaches and from all walks through the community, and we’ll see how they take in the resources that we have right here in our hometown. They give us an example of what success can look like coming from Paducah, coming from McCracken County.”
Booker, son of LaDonna Atkins of Paducah, is this week’s Murray State University Teen of the Week.
Each Tuesday, The Sun publishes articles on outstanding regional high school seniors. From the final 32 students chosen, one will be chosen as the Teen of the Year around the end of the school year. Teen of the Year receives a $5,000 scholarship. A second student will receive the Inspiration Award and a $1,000 scholarship.
Booker plans to study psychology at a four-year university, before getting his master’s degree.
“I think growing up, experiencing so many different backgrounds looking and asking myself, ‘Why does this person have this viewpoint, but this person has this viewpoint?,’ ” he said. “’Why does this person think this way?’ That’s always been something that intrigues me.”