Annie Clark, a 7-year-old born without hands but with a can-do spirit, has won a national award for penmanship.
The
first grader at Wilson Christian Academy in the Pittsburgh-area was
awarded the Nicholas Maxim Special Award for Excellent Penmanship at a
surprise assembly at her school Wednesday, where she was presented with a
trophy and $1,000 prize from Zaner-Bloser, the textbook publishing
company that sponsors the contest.
After accepting the award,
Annie demonstrated for the audience how she writes, gripping the pencil
steadily between her forearms to perfect the letters and capitalization.
"She
is a studious and conscientious student who really strives for
perfection," her teacher Laura Erb said. "She is very determined to get
it right. When she does any kind of writing, she wants to make sure that
it's clear and concise and she really takes pride in her work."
Erb
said Annie sometimes has to stand up to give herself leverage over the
lined paper, but always keeps up in the classroom with her peers. In
fact, she tutors other students.
"We don't consider her a special
ed [student], she's just Annie," Erb said. "She picks up on things very
quickly. She keeps pace with the classroom and the curriculum."
Despite
her disability, Annie can use scissors and glue in class, Erb said, and
has learned how to dress herself, feed herself, swim and ride a bike.
She also excels at math.
"This has been a very natural thing for her. She just did it, she wrote just like this. She didn't have therapy," Erb explained.
Now
in its 21st year, the Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest is an
annual event for grade school students that promotes penmanship. This
year, the contest included a new category for students with disabilities
after Nicholas Maxim, a fifth grader from Maine who was born without
hands or lower arms, applied to the general contest last year and
impressed judges with his penmanship skills.
In
response to the question, "What do you like handwriting?" she carefully
dotted the "i" and wrote: "Handwriting is fun and special!"
More than 2.5 million students have participated in the contest over the years, according to company estimates.
Annie's
parents, Tom and Mary Ellen Clark, have three biological children and
six adopted children from China, including Annie, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Annie came to Western Pennsylvania at age 2.
"She’s kind and sweet and loving
and has added so much to our family," her mother Mary Ellen Clark said.
"We just all adore her, and we can’t imagine life without her."
Described
as shy, Annie was surprised to learn at the assembly that she had won
the award since her mom was asked not to tell her beforehand.
“She
went up to receive the trophy and I could tell she was overwhelmed, but
she was poised,” penmanship Clark said. “Then I would say it started to
sink in and I saw her smile and I could tell she was enjoying the
moment.”
"She was shocked," Annie's sister Amy, 25, said. "When it happened, her eyes were so big."
Annie's siblings, classmates, teachers and family
couldn't be happier for her. The determined seven-year-old is stopping
here. She has big dreams of becoming an author, according to her
teacher.
“This has given her a real sense of confidence,” he
mother, Mary Ellen Clark said. “She is just proud to be her and as a
parent, I’m just thrilled with that.”