Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy: Taylor Hancock has found the balance between academics and extracurriculars

“Thorough, witty, civic-minded, entrepreneurial and leadership.”

These are just a few of the qualities Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy senior Taylor Hancock possesses, according to his AP government teacher, Sandy Midgley.

Hancock is as studious and smart as he is funny and thoughtful. Driven by the pursuit of knowledge and learning rather than grades, Hancock strives to be an exemplary young man, both inside the classroom and in his day-to-day life.

Midgley describes Hancock as a “work hard, play hard” kind of student, who has managed to strike the coveted balance in life between being a dedicated student and thriving in his activities outside of the classroom.

“I think Taylor has already figured out the mystery of how to get the work done, so that he can go and live his life,” Midgley said. “And that skill I think is going to serve him well and I can’t wait to see him master that even more. He gets an assignment, and he just goes after it immediately. Not because he’s obsessed about his grades necessarily or his points, but he just wants to get it done so he can get out into the woods.”

Two of the extracurriculars that Hancock is passionate about are his Eagle Scout troop and his soccer team. His sophomore year the team made it to state, and the following year they returned and finished in third place.

Being an active member of his soccer team as well as his Eagle Scout troop taught Hancock the importance of finding fulfillment outside of the classroom.

Having those outlets also provided invaluable leadership and team building opportunities.

One of the biggest takeaways for Hancock was how to juggle multiple commitments and not let any of them fall to the back burner.

“When practice is taking two or three hours of your day and cutting into homework time which takes quite a long time, it definitely makes you learn time management and how to be efficient and how to prioritize things even more,” Hancock said.

A testament to his ability to take on many responsibilities at once and excel at all of them, Midgley has full confidence that he will find success and fulfillment at whatever he chooses to do in life.

“I hope for him and I know that he will manage to achieve a happy, fulfilled life outside of his job,” Midgley said.

In terms of what that future job might be, Hancock’s goal is to be in a position where he can give back to his community and help provide those opportunities for others that he benefited from.

Hancock’s next steps include attending the University of Idaho with his twin brother, and he plans to pursue studies in either accounting, finance or entrepreneurship.

His goal for the next year is to grow as a leader and as an individual and push himself out of his comfort zone.

“I’d really like to work on being a leader in class,” Hancock said. “I believe that leadership involves setting out goals for the people that you’re leading, and helping implement those goals by working together.”