The 17-year-old Plant City High School student is heavily involved in the community and has proven her leadership abilities in and out of the classroom.
Mary-Catherine Stephens has a resume that highlights her dedication to the community and tireless work ethic. The Strawberry Youth Parade group saw her as a perfect fit for this year’s Grand Marshal, and now Stephens can add that to her resume.
The 17-year-old Plant City High School student has a 5.2 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society and the National Technical Honor Society. She’ll get some help furthering her education from the parade group, which also awarded her a $500 scholarship.
But she’s not just being honored for her intellect. While in middle school, Stephens began pursuing leadership positions in a variety of organizations. She was a Sentinel at Tomlin FFA and attended many officer retreats, state and national FFA conventions. She then went on to be the Chaplain of the J.G. Smith FFA, the Historian of the Girl’s Interact Club, Vice President of the Interact Club and Vice President of the NTHS at Plant City High School.
She received several letters of recommendation for the position and her teacher said she could not think of “anyone more deserving” of the honor.
“As her teacher, I have seen firsthand her allegiance to bettering her community and her devotion to being a positive role model for others,” Sarah Mallah, AVID, AP Government and Student Government advisor, said. “As a student, Mary-Catherine has demonstrated a love for her school and the level of dedication to leadership necessary to succeed in college and beyond. She is the type of student who is always ready to take the initiative to help others. She is not the type to refuse any kind of a challenge, whether academic or personal.”
Stephens has received many awards and honors over the years, including being an Opening and Closing Ceremonies District winner and scoring second place at the OCC State competition. She is the recipient of the Discovery Degree, an Optimist Speech finalist and received the recognition of Outstanding Community Service for the Interact Club. She is also a 2019 PCHS Calendar Girl for the month of June.
While in school, she keeps her schedule filled to the max. Stephens has been on the PCHS varsity tennis team from 2018-2020, the Peer Jury from 2018-2020, the Yearbook Staff from 2018-2019, an Interact Club member from 2016-2020, played on the JV flag football team from 2017-2018, JV cheerleading from 2016-2017, on the PCHS varsity swim team from 2016-2017 and on the Homecoming Court in 2016.
She has also spent her time volunteering throughout the community. Stephens participated with Lights of Love, Little League Opening Day, volunteered with Walden Lake Howl-O-Ween, Dancing with the Locals, Relay for Life, Raider Invasion, PCHS Trunk or Treat and has served on many mission trips and mission camps. Stephens also has been a Strawberry Youth Parade Board member from 2017 to present.
Steven Shouse, who has known Stephens for the past 14 years, also praised her character.
“She is an energetic, passionate, kind, polite and respectful person,” Shouse said. “From an early age, she has been goal-driven and a devout student. She has been able to balance her school work and extra-curricular activities at school and out of school like a seasoned professional beyond her years. Mary-Catherine’s confidence, charisma and charm will carry her far in her future endeavors.”
You can see Stephens in her role as Grand Marshal of the Strawberry Youth Parade on Feb. 29 and as a participant of the Strawberry Festival Parade on March 2.
