30 Jun 2021 Cabot’s valedictorian has eye on cancer research
By Stefanie Brazile
Cabot High School’s valedictorian credits hard work and her parents’ support for her success.
Natalie Stocks has grown up in Cabot, which is the largest city in Lonoke County. She enjoys knowing a lot of people in the small town and looks forward to broadening her view next fall at the University of Arkansas. She is quick to tell you that her success can be chalked up to hard work. As evidence of the hours that she’s willing to put in, Stocks graduated with a 4.53 GPA while taking 12 Advanced Placement (AP) classes. She was awarded the Chancellor’s Scholarship from U of A, as well as the Governor’s Distinguished Scholarship.
In her graduation speech, she recalled a time when she didn’t care about school and tried to convince her father, Mark, to let her take regular classes, rather than going the pre-AP path. “But my dad knew I was capable of much more and convinced me to push myself. And so, I did. I started to hold myself to a higher standard.”
Sadly, the summer before Stocks entered 8th grade, her mother, Lashawn, was diagnosed with cancer and passed away that December.
“I really did not want to try anymore, I wanted to just give up,” she told her classmates in the valedictory speech. “But my mom used to tell me this quote by Winnie the Pooh: ‘You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.’ Thank you, mom.”
Stocks told attendees that she kept pushing herself that year and made all A’s and continued that work ethic for four more years. She doesn’t believe that she was the smartest graduate at Cabot High, but she does take credit for working the hardest.
She plans to earn a degree in molecular biology and genetics and then go to medical school in North Carolina. Ultimately, she wants to conduct cancer research. “I have a deep understanding of how cancer affects people and their families, and I also know my own potential, so I want to use that to help people in any way that I can,” she said.
“You can do absolutely anything you want to with your life,” she said. “Dream the life you want and make it your reality. It may get hard, but there are so many moments in life that make it worth it. For me, so far, those moments have been late nights with my friends, laughing every day in calculus class, and spontaneous trips to get ice cream with my sister, Madison.”
Another part of her plan is to take her lab/husky mix, Blu, to college when she starts her sophomore year.
Her other high school interests included being a member of the Cabot Chamber of Commerce Youth Leadership Council, Junior Civitan, Key Club, Mu Alpha Theta, and National Honor Society. She has enjoyed volunteering at animal shelters, nursing homes, and with the Special Olympics.
“I enjoy living so close to all my friends,” Stocks said. “I’ve grown a lot closer to my dad and he’s very similar to me in that he is very quiet and not one to talk a lot — but I know he’s always there for me and always going to support me in my future endeavors.”
