4 minute read
McKennie Siblings on the Path to Success
Ava McKennie ’24 is a proud sister. She keeps following the path of her big brother Ellis ’15, whether she wants to or not. While the siblings, almost 10 years apart in age, never attended McDonogh at the same time, a look at their journey suggests they are cut from the same cloth. From the moment they each enrolled as scholarship students, they embraced the many opportunities the School offered and relished the traditions that make it special. By their senior years, they both were captains of a varsity sport, they embarked on senior projects reflective of their future career paths, and their next stop after McDonogh was the University of Maryland to play on a Division I team.
Ellis started at McDonogh in sixth grade, and he was immediately wowed by the size of the campus and the fun of Spirit Week. “I still remember my first Spirit Day and my last one like they were yesterday,” he says. As he moved from Middle to Upper School and became part of the football team, his memories of watching older boys in the annual Spirit Parade morphed into being a figure the younger students looked up to. “As a kid, I remember seeing the football team running around, and then as a senior, getting excited for my last Spirit Week. I couldn’t wait for that Friday and the parade because it was my day.”
Ava, on the other hand, who had been a spectator at Ellis’ games, did not consider McDonogh as the school for her until after he graduated. “When I finally got to know the actual School, I fell in love with everything that was here,” she says. She enrolled as a freshman and set out to outshine her brother. Soon she realized that despite his legacy, her teachers, dorm parents, and coaches saw them as individuals. “I didn’t have to try to be different, I was on a different path,” she says. In four short years that path was down Chapel Hill to Childs Memorial Terrace at the 2023 Opening Convocation. Ava, a Rollins-Luetkemeyer Leader, joined her classmates in walking hand-in-hand with first graders to the ceremony.
“I realized it was the last time that we [the Class of 2024] would do this walk before graduation. It set the tone for the rest of the year and how I should make it what I need it to be,” she says.
By their senior years, the two student-athletes had both committed to the University of Maryland — Ellis to play football and Ava to play basketball. Again, despite their age difference, Ava was reluctant to follow Ellis as a Terp. The two laugh as Ellis rattles off her list of pros and cons saying, “The pros were good academics, close to home, and the coaches. She had two pages of pros, and the top con was ‘Ellis went there!’”
By their senior years, the two student-athletes had both committed to the University of Maryland — Ellis to play football and Ava to play basketball. Again, despite their age difference, Ava was reluctant to follow Ellis as a Terp. The two laugh as Ellis rattles off her list of pros and cons saying, “The pros were good academics, close to home, and the coaches. She had two pages of pros, and the top con was ‘Ellis went there!’”
Ava and Ellis continued to embrace every opportunity until the very end of their McDonogh journeys. While their Senior Projects appear dramatically different, they both chose to explore possible career fields that involve giving back. Ellis, who shadowed an attorney, graduated from The George Washington University Law School, is currently practicing law in Washington D.C., and hopes to eventually work as a public servant. Ava traveled with McDonogh Basketball Coach Brad Rees and a group to the Dominican Republic where they delivered athletic shoes that she collected and conducted basketball clinics. She hopes to have a career in philanthropy.
Speaking as alumni, the two see how their McDonogh scholarships impacted their lives. Ellis says, “McDonogh sets a standard of excellence. Excellence in the way you carry yourself and the way you treat people. It’s invaluable.” Then, speaking like the older brother he is, he adds, “I’m glad Ava got to experience it.”
Ava, who is only just stepping away from McDonogh, says the School helped her come out of her shell and notes that she is more responsible and has gained confidence as a leader.
It sounds like she’s forging her own path! — Meredith Bower
