Seven-year-old Anaya Ellick, who was born with no hands and does not use prostheses, in 2016, won a national penmanship contest.

Holding the pencil between her wrists, the first-grader at Greenbrier Christian Academy in Chesapeake, Va., formed neat, careful letters, earning her the Nicholas Maxim Special Award for Excellence in Manuscript Penmanship. The award is one of several that the educational company Zaner-Bloser gives out every year.

“Anaya is a remarkable young lady. She does not let anything get in the way of doing what she has set out to do,” said GCA Principal Tracy Cox in a statement from the school. “She is a hard worker and has some of the best handwriting in her class. Her determination is an inspiration to all of us at GCA.”

To enter the contest for the Nicholas Maxim Award, “a student must have a cognitive delay, or an intellectual, physical or developmental disability,” Zaner-Bloser said in a statement, adding that a team of occupational therapists judges the entries. A spokesman from Zaner-Bloser told NPR that there were about 50 entries this year.

Contest director Kathleen Wright said the judges were “just stunned” by the quality of Anaya’s printing. “Her writing sample was comparable to someone who had hands.”