Catonsville High’s Maddi McLean celebrated senior night with her classmates on the volleyball and basketball teams during the fall and winter.
Although she doesn’t play a spring sport, she was supposed to be honored on March 25 in a ceremony after being named Baltimore County Young Woman of the Year.
“The annual Woman of the Year awards are given to female Baltimore County residents who have enhanced the lives of others and made significant contributions to their community, workplace, or school to further the interests of women and children,” the county says on its website.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the event was canceled this year.
McLean’s older sister, Gabriella, won the award in 2018. Other previous winners from Catonsville High were Alejandra Mora (2015) and Amanda Deems (1993).
Maddi McLean was called out of her class when she received the news.
“I was kind of in shock at first; I got called down to the office and I was asked to take a phone call and nobody really knew what it was about," she said. "I thought I was in trouble at first. But looking back, it was kind of a happy surprise that I got it, and I couldn’t wait to come home and tell my parents.”
It was her mom, Angie, and dad, Chuck, who got their daughters involved in volunteering to help the needy.
“Volunteering is such a big value in my family and just giving back to the community any way we can inside oroutside of Catonsville,” McLean said. “We found unique ways that we can give back and I think that just reflected onto my sister and I."
McLean said she has been volunteering since she could walk and recalls visiting her grandmother in North Carolina as a kid and delivering pack lunches to a local church or shelter.
“It doesn’t even have to be a close affiliation, but my mom and dad both have done a great job of trying to reach out to wherever we are, it would be like what that community needs,” she said.
Over the past year, she has helped with donations at Night of Peace Family Shelter in Windsor Mill, Westside Men’s Shelter in Catonsville, Small Miracles Dog and Cat Rescue, Love on a Leash Shelter, the SPCA and Catonsville High’s Student Sharing Club.
“I was lucky enough to create my own project and administer and have a bunch of kids come together and create Valentine’s Day bags for the kids and parents at the Night of Peace Shelter,” McLean said.
McLean, who was a freshman on Catonsville’s state championship basketball team in 2017 and played on the 2018 team that lost in the state finals, also got her basketball teammates involved.
During Christmas season, team members took dinner and presents to the Night of Peace Shelter.
“It’s so cliché, but it’s true, there is nothing like giving back. That feeling is pretty special and they [the McLean family] do it all the time,” Catonsville basketball coach Mike Mohler said. “I know as a team we were involved in the orphan home and we would go over there and spend some time and not only be educated about the orphan home, but also do what we can to help them.”
McLean averaged 9.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and was a second team All-County selection this past season for the Comets, who finished 16-9. In a 52-40 regional semifinal win over Dulaney, McLean had 10 points and 14 rebounds.
One of the organizations where she got her volleyball teammates involved was a nonprofit called Love the Hopeful.
“It’s like a mock farmer’s market once a month,” said McLean, noting it falls on Saturdays. “We go down and we just help set up tables, and at each table there is like food and personal hygiene products, suitcases and donated clothes, so each table is like a different necessity almost.”
They typically set up under the Falls Road bridge in Baltimore City.
“It’s called Love the Hopeful because it is serving the homeless of Baltimore and we are trying to give them hope,” she said. “It is really interesting to interact with all of these people because they live maybe 15 miles away from me, but their lifestyle is so completely different.”
McLean is undecided on where she will attend college, but has narrowed her choice to two schools: the University of South Carolina for sports management and international relations and North Carolina State University for international relations with the focus on global studies.
Although her senior year was put on hold when schools were closed March 16 until at least May 15, that didn’t stop her from thinking about the needy on her last day of school.
“The last Friday before we got out, I had been collecting care packages, like little masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and all these little hygiene products, along with quarantine products to keep yourself clean, and I dropped them off with my mom at the Westside Men’s Shelter,” she said.
Since most people have been quarantined, the spread of donations has been put on hold.
“We have been collecting little things, but we haven’t really been able to go out and make close contact, which is really hard because we know that there are so many people out there who need help right now,” she said. “I don’t know how to sew yet, but I’ve been thinking about trying to sew and make masks for people that help and first responders.”
Coach Mohler sent her a video message reminding her how special her award will always be.
In it he said, “It won’t be as publicized as it was probably going to be, but the award is still the award and you are still recognized as the Young Woman of the Year for 2020 and that can never ever be taken away from you.”
Mohler said the sad part is we’re living in times “where these things really become back of the page news when you really want these kind of things to be front page news.”
McLean is used to doing things behind the scenes and even with the rest of the school year in jeopardy, she is maintaining a positive attitude.
“We are still so young and we have so much to accomplish, but we are trying to live in the now and just hope everything goes back to normal," she said. "But we understand it is so much bigger than not being able to graduate, like there are people who are very sick and who are dying. So I try to put more of the focus on the health care workers and the first responders because they are the ones that are risking their lives. I’m trying to focus on keeping everyone happy and healthy.”