Born in Nashville, Tennessee, but raised in Marietta, Georgia, Cymara Hancock takes great pride in who she is and where she’s from, and believes that her experiences have prepared her for this work. Cymara has made it her mission over the past 14 years through both volunteer and career opportunities to create a more suitable way of life that will yield greater opportunities for the youth, their families, and the underserved and underrepresented generations to come.
Upon graduating from Wheeler High School, Cymara took her talents to the University of Alabama where she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. Immediately after, she accepted a role as a Political Consultant working on several campaigns, including those for school board and school superintendent. Seeing the disconnect between candidates and the communities they wished to serve peaked an interest for Cymara and she knew this was a fight she had to join. Cymara joined Teach for America, Metro Atlanta’s chapter, and taught in Clayton County for 2 years. There was more work to be done and Cymara understood that in order to agitate and dismantle the many oppressive systems that run deep through this country, she must advocate and demand change to policy. This pushed her to learn more about advocacy and policy work, and she went on to complete a 9 month Public Policy Fellowship with the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
Cymara is a mother to the most incredible son on the planet, Elijah. She loves her community and serves as both a mentor and basketball coach. Ensuring that her and his peers experience equity, feel empowered to follow their dreams, and have access to a quality education despite where they live is what motivates her most to get the work done and never take no for an answer.
I aspire to be like ____. Here’s why:
I aspire to be like both of my grandmother’s, Elsie and Jackie. While they are totally different people with differing approaches, they share the same go-getter mentality and have a heart of gold. My late grandmother, Elsie, was an extremely intelligent woman who knew what she wanted. She spoke loud and proud with her chest out and her head up and was never scared of what people thought of her. She was brave, strong, and wanted nothing more than to protect her family and see them succeed. To this day many men joke about how they were afraid of her, but respected her and knew that if there was a fight to be fought, Elsie was going to fight and win. My grandmother, Jackie, is a more gentle spirit, a woman of wisdom with the same attitude. Her work ethic is unmatched and she goes above and beyond to fight and make sure that her family, her friends, and anyone else in the community has what they need. While this world wasn’t always nice to her, she continues to give back with the most beautiful smile and a laugh that brings immediate joy. She plays so many roles to so many people, and I often think about how different this world could be if we all supported each other in this same way regardless of our differences.
Why I love my job:
I love my job because I understand the importance of education. Knowledge is power, and it is something that no one can take away from you. The more that you know, then the further you’ll go. I have the opportunity to truly serve as an agent of change and advocate in my own home state, my backyard, where I grew up and make sure that students and their families have common sense policies in place to support, protect, and promote equity in their schools. Not everyone can say they are working their dream job, but I can!
My connection to public schools:
I am a product of public schools, including public charter schools from Kindergarten through the 12th grade. I loved the diversity in student makeup, I loved that I saw women who looked like me leading my school, and I loved the camaraderie amongst families. I was fortunate enough to have had mostly great teachers, but also experienced some who instantly misjudged me because of who they perceived me to be. Luckily, my parents were very involved in my childhood education, serving as PTA President, coaching community sports teams, and serving as mentors across Cobb County. I was taught early on just how vital it was to be educated as a little black girl, and being able to read and write were non-negotiable. I instill those same values into my own child and encourage parents to be as involved as they can in what is happening inside of the walls of their children’s schools.
What I’m bad at:
I’m bad at asking for help. I have always been super independent, and would rather figure out how to do something on my own. I hate to be a bother, and also don’t like the idea of relying on others, but I understand there is beauty in being able to call on someone for something and I am working on it!
This image represents why I work at 50CAN:
When I look at this picture, I see a young boy who is proud of himself. The smile tells a story of self-confidence and belief. There’s a sense of belonging. And most importantly, you can read, Certificate of Achievement going across his chest. I want all students to experience this feeling and associate their own school journey with achievement, and being proud of themselves.