To win a national award for handwriting, especially in this digital age, is an achievement in itself. But what makes Anaya Ellick’s accolade extra special is that the seven-year-old accomplished the feat despite having no hands. Even more amazing? The first-grader from Chesapeake, Virginia, who won the prestigious Nicholas Maxim Special Award for Excellence in Manuscript Penmanship, on April 11, does not use prosthetics.
While the impeccable handwriting may surprise the world, Tracy Cox, principal of Greenbrier Christian Academy where Anaya goes to school, is not. In fact, it was Cox who entered the 1st grader in the annual national handwriting competition organized by educational company Zaner-Bloser. Contest director Kathleen Wright said the judges, many of who are occupational therapists, were "just stunned" by the quality of Anaya's printing. The young girl who competed in the category for students with special needs had to outshine 50 contestants to win the award.
The award which comes with a Zaner-Bloser gift certificate for Greenbrier Christian Academy and $1,000 USD cash prize and trophy for Anaya, is named after Nicholas Maxim, a fifth grader from Readfield, Maine. In 2011, the young boy who is born without his lower arms, submitted a cursive entry so impressive that Zaner-Bloser decided to create a new category to honor physically challenged kids.
Anaya’s proud parents, Bianca Middleton and Gary Ellick say the young girl’s determination and desire to be independent became apparent when she was just an infant. Though Anaya was fitted with prosthetic arms for a short time, the young girl decided she was better off with her natural ones and discarded them.
This story was from Dogo News
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