PULASKI COUNTY, Ky. — Madalyn Dudley is a star at Pulaski County High School, even though the pandemic means she doesn't actually get to go there.  

Like most teens, it has been a long time since she's been in a classroom. Dudley said, "I have not been to school. Actually, my last day of school was my 17th birthday. March 13th was the last time I was ever at my high school."

Nontraditional instruction (NTI) led to frustration for many students, but the senior class president refuses to let it get her down. 

She told Spectrum News 1 in an interview, "It’s definitely been a learning process but I really think that it’ll help all of us, not just myself but all of us as we enter adulthood and our careers because this is the direction that we’re going. So it’s really been a learning curve in trying to look at it that way. But it is kind of hard being a senior, but then again I think we’re probably just equipping ourselves for a better future because this is what we’re going towards."

Dudley brings that can-do attitude to everything. She holds a statewide office in Kentucky DECA. According to its website, "DECA's mission is to prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe." She has a 4.2-grade point average in the classroom and is a successful golfer. 

But her future might not be in playing sports but talking about them. 

Dudley contributes a segment on Lakecumberlandsports.com, where she gives extra exposure to deserving Pulaski County high school athletes.

But that's not all Dudley does. She's also the lead singer in a band and is in charge of her school's efforts to fight pancreatic cancer.

Dudley says, "We have basically raised over $2,500 in the past two years just doing school-based fundraisers."

Something all of her interests have in common is leadership and Madalyn is learning to become a good one. She told Spectrum News 1, "To become a good leader, you need to be a good listener first. All of my platforms for any leadership role I’ve ever ran for has been that I would rather listen to the people that I would be governing instead of going off my own intuition."

Congratulations to Madalyn Dudley winner of our "High School Scholar" Award.