Maeve Curtin
George Mason High School

George Mason High School has a standard senior worksheet that its counselors use to help students prepare their college applications. It wasn’t long enough for Maeve Curtin. Hers had to be extended by two pages to include all of her activities in and outside of school.

“I’ve never worked with a more ambitious, intrepid achiever than Maeve,” says guidance counselor Marcia Schumann, an educator for the past 27 years. “The faculty lovingly refer to her as the ‘Dean of Students’ because she rallies around every cause. She can always be counted on to organize students and work as a liaison.”

Before graduating this spring, Curtin held a number of leadership positions, including president of her school’s Student Government Association and treasurer of the National Honor Society. She’s proudest of the Best Buddies chapter she started at Mason her sophomore year, which fosters friendships between students with and without disabilities.  “We’ve been able to create a cultural shift and transition our school community into a more accepting and inclusive place,” says the 17-year-old Falls Church City resident.

“Maeve has a drive and really believes that she and her generation can make things better and have a significant impact in the world,” says her dad, Mike Curtin. Maybe it runs in the family. He’s the CEO of DC Central Kitchen, a nonprofit that combats hunger.

Still, Curtin is charting her own course and taking on her own causes. Observing that other school districts have student representation on their school boards, she lobbied for a student position to be created on the Falls Church City School Board—a seat to which she was subsequently elected by Mason’s student government.“Maeve keeps the board up to date with what’s really happening in the trenches,” says school board chair Susan Kearney. “[She has presented] policy work that was very well thought out. At times we’ve changed our approach based on the information she’s given us.”

An athlete to boot, Curtin co-captained Mason’s women’s varsity lacrosse team and played travel lacrosse, all the while coaching a younger girls’ team in the Falls Church Youth Lacrosse Club. She completed a full International Baccalaureate course load at Mason and was named a Jefferson Scholar (an honor that includes full tuition) at the University of Virginia, where she will study public policy and government this fall.

—Amy Brecount White (photo by Erick Gibson)