Maddison Devine
The Lucketts Ruritan Club awarded $3,500.00 to Maddison Devine toward her studies at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she was accepted into the Honors Program as a double major in the fields of neuroscience and psychology. Her fascination with the brain and how it functions has evolved since early childhood. Maddison’s field of study choice solidified after losing her mother to cancer that had metastasized to her brain. With the loving support of her family, she has learned to channel her circumstances into the pursuit of excellence in academics, mental health advocacy, sports management, and to use her natural talent for acting and art to have fun!
Maddison graduated from Tuscarora High School with a GPA of 4.28, with AP classes in Biology, Chemistry, Psychology, and Literature under her belt. In addition to her leadership and community engagement, she was inducted into the prestigious National Honor Society in recognition of her academic achievements.
Although Maddison describes herself as “always the child with her nose in a book,” she also found time for non-academic activities. As one of five managers for the Tuscarora High School Co-Ed wrestling team, Maddison refined her natural leadership skills to encourage and support the wrestlers. She was in charge of scoring, the organization of timelines and emails, singlet distribution and numbering, weigh-ins, and the logging of statistics for each team member.
Maddison has a strong desire to be a mental health advocate, especially for children who face the challenges of learning to ‘fit in’ when they have a mental disability label. Volunteering over 200 hours at the Arc of Loudoun over the course of her high school career, Maddison has found a way to engage this passion. The Arc of Loudoun provides a lifetime of support options for people with disabilities and serves as an advocacy center to educate and support the person with the disability and their family. The Arc of Loudoun is Maddison’s favorite place on earth because it provides a safe place where kids with mental disabilities can be themselves but also learn and grow in a bully-free environment. Many of you may be familiar with “Shocktober” in Leesburg, which is the main Arc of Loudoun fundraiser for support of their programs. If any of you attended the haunted house in 2019, you may remember the Crazy Snake Lady…that was Maddison! She created her costume, did all of her own make-up design, and was the lead make-up artist for many other participants. Maddison loves this fundraising event because it enables her creative artistic and dramatic side to shine while raising money for mental health awareness.
The Lucketts Ruritans are so proud to play a small role in the next chapter of Maddison’s life and wish her the best of luck as she starts her classes in mid-August at Mount Saint Mary’s University.
