Giving Thanks: The Hancock Family
11/25/2020 4:30:00 PM | Equestrian
Alumna Kari Hancock and her family challenged the TCU community on TCU Gives Day
As part of TCU Gives Day, TCU Equestrian Class of 2017 alumna Kari Hancock and her family challenged the TCU community to garner 2,000 donors throughout the day, in order to unlock a $100,000 endowed scholarship for the equestrian program.
Despite the ongoing global health and economic crisis, Gives Day 2020 (Oct. 27-28) was a resounding success, celebrating its second highest year in both dollars and donors, with more than 2,300 donors and over $885,000 raised overall for Lead On: A Campaign for TCU, the university's most ambitious philanthropic campaign in its nearly 150-year history.
Along the way, Horned Frogs secured the $100,000 matching gift from the Hancock family — James, Anne, Brittany and Kari.
"Kari Hancock is one of the most decorated students and athletes to come through the equestrian program," TCU Director of Equestrian Haley Schoolfield said. "She and her family have always been generous supporters of TCU, the equestrian team and our four-legged teammates. Through this pledge, the Hancock family will continue their giving legacy and empower TCU to support Horned Frogs for generations to come. Our gratitude is endless for all of our supporters on TCU Gives Day and always."
Hancock, who ranks 10th on the all-time single event wins list with 30, rode on the Jumping Seat side for the Frogs from 2013-17. She raked in the awards throughout her career twice earning First Team All-America honors in Flat. She also was recognized as a Big 12 Champion for Life, Big 12 Equestrian Scholar Athlete of the Year, Elite Equestrian and First Team All-Academic from both the NCEA and the Big 12. She received the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award recipient and an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
"I am incredibly thankful to TCU for the wonderful memories and long-standing impact it made on my life," Hancock said. "In the Fall of 2013 I came to a community that quickly became my family and my home. My coaches met me with support and the belief in my abilities as a scholar, an athlete and an upstanding citizen. They fostered my abilities and set high expectations, some days they seemed higher than I could achieve, but they saw a future for me that I had not believed was within the realm of possibilities. With the support of my team and my community, I was able to face challenges head-on and meet personal growth with open arms."
Hancock was challenged both in competition and in the classroom. A Chancellor's Scholar who graduated summa cum laude with a degree in biochemistry, she was named TCU's Dutch Meyer Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year her senior year. She moved on to pursue veterinary studies at UC Davis and is on the path for her dream career in equine orthopedic surgery.
"It wasn't always easy," Anne Hancock, Kari's mother, said. "There were a lot of sacrifices, but the relationships she made during her years at TCU with coaches, athletes and professors contributed to the confidence she gained and the ability to push through the tough times in life and emerge successfully on the other side. We hope this scholarship will inspire future equestriennes to push their limits, set high aspirations for themselves, embrace the challenge of being a student-athlete and make a difference at TCU and in the world."
Despite the ongoing global health and economic crisis, Gives Day 2020 (Oct. 27-28) was a resounding success, celebrating its second highest year in both dollars and donors, with more than 2,300 donors and over $885,000 raised overall for Lead On: A Campaign for TCU, the university's most ambitious philanthropic campaign in its nearly 150-year history.
Along the way, Horned Frogs secured the $100,000 matching gift from the Hancock family — James, Anne, Brittany and Kari.
"Kari Hancock is one of the most decorated students and athletes to come through the equestrian program," TCU Director of Equestrian Haley Schoolfield said. "She and her family have always been generous supporters of TCU, the equestrian team and our four-legged teammates. Through this pledge, the Hancock family will continue their giving legacy and empower TCU to support Horned Frogs for generations to come. Our gratitude is endless for all of our supporters on TCU Gives Day and always."
Hancock, who ranks 10th on the all-time single event wins list with 30, rode on the Jumping Seat side for the Frogs from 2013-17. She raked in the awards throughout her career twice earning First Team All-America honors in Flat. She also was recognized as a Big 12 Champion for Life, Big 12 Equestrian Scholar Athlete of the Year, Elite Equestrian and First Team All-Academic from both the NCEA and the Big 12. She received the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award recipient and an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
"I am incredibly thankful to TCU for the wonderful memories and long-standing impact it made on my life," Hancock said. "In the Fall of 2013 I came to a community that quickly became my family and my home. My coaches met me with support and the belief in my abilities as a scholar, an athlete and an upstanding citizen. They fostered my abilities and set high expectations, some days they seemed higher than I could achieve, but they saw a future for me that I had not believed was within the realm of possibilities. With the support of my team and my community, I was able to face challenges head-on and meet personal growth with open arms."
Hancock was challenged both in competition and in the classroom. A Chancellor's Scholar who graduated summa cum laude with a degree in biochemistry, she was named TCU's Dutch Meyer Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year her senior year. She moved on to pursue veterinary studies at UC Davis and is on the path for her dream career in equine orthopedic surgery.
"It wasn't always easy," Anne Hancock, Kari's mother, said. "There were a lot of sacrifices, but the relationships she made during her years at TCU with coaches, athletes and professors contributed to the confidence she gained and the ability to push through the tough times in life and emerge successfully on the other side. We hope this scholarship will inspire future equestriennes to push their limits, set high aspirations for themselves, embrace the challenge of being a student-athlete and make a difference at TCU and in the world."
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