Senior Spotlight: Fionnuala McMahon

A Leader in the Making // Managing the Environmental Club, co-president, Fionnuala McMahon, guides club members to understand more about the environment around them and how to help strengthen it. In more than just one arena, including academics, other clubs, and missions, she has proven to be a well-rounded student and individual with a desire to serve her community during her time at Coronado. (Photo Courtesy of Fionnuala McMahon)

The journey to success is never easy. Usually, it is filled with highs and lows. The real test of achieving success, however, is how one responds to those highs and lows. While on that journey, not everyone always reacts in a humble way when reaching a high, and not everyone always gets back up after reaching a low. It ultimately takes a lot of hard work, humility, and determination to reach success—no matter the arena. Senior Fionnuala McMahon has embodied what it means to work and reach that success over these past four years.

During her time at Coronado, Fionnuala McMahon has maintained a passion for a variety of components in her life. Among those many components are her academic drive, relationships with others, and mission-driven activities. Through these many passions, she has faced opposition but also experiences in overcoming those obstacles through the very characteristics that she has maintained throughout the years—hard work, humility, determination—that have paid off in great measures throughout her education that she will be pursuing post-high school, as well as her everyday relationships in and outside of her immediate community. 

When it comes to her academics, McMahon has been nothing less than an exemplary student. During her time in high school, Fionnuala has taken a variety of rigorous courses, 11 AP classes to be exact. While doing so, she maintained a 4.95 weighted GPA and also completed the AP Capstone program. This diploma type consists of taking both AP Seminar and AP Research during high school and passing the AP exams for each by the end of the year.  Classes put a heavy emphasis on research and public speaking through project-based assignments, and they require great time management skills, among many others.

“The two research-based classes were truly transformative for me,” McMahon explained. “I was able to engage in research that I truly enjoyed. I learned that I have an interest in reading, researching, and presenting about a topic.”

Ultimately, beyond taking these difficult classes, McMahon proved not only that she was able to handle difficult coursework but also that she has an innate desire to learn and grow throughout the process. She noted that prior to high school, while she was in middle school, Fionnuala had a lack of interest in learning and didn’t have the motivation to work hard. However, she explained how once she hit high school, she gained a newfound appreciation for learning. By pushing through the slump, she worked hard, and along the way, that drive and the achievements she has gained were not just based on accolades, but the determination she gained from it. All of her hard work has not only been self-inspiring but has also pushed her to become a better student with each passing year.

“I am so glad that I pushed myself to try new things and take difficult classes because I have learned so many things from it,” McMahon noted. “It has taught me so much about myself and the world, and what I can handle. I have loved getting to take amazing classes at this school.”

Taking all of the lessons, skills, and traits she has gained from her academics, McMahon also extended them outside of school to other areas of her life to apply the things she learned in the classroom. One such area has been her relationship equity, or in other words, the investment she has placed into her social life. During her time at Coronado, she participated and gained passion in a variety of clubs, including National English Honors Society (NEHS), American Sign Language Club (ASL), and as well as Environmental Club, where she became co-president. There, she learned a lot about her interests as well as the people who share them. Along with getting to know and build friendships with the students, McMahon also learned the importance of building bonds with teachers. 

“It is important to form relationships with your teachers,” McMahon explained. “They are not just there to help you learn, they are there to guide you. I have made many good relationships with a lot of my teachers because I took the time to get to know them.”

One of the most valuable things one can have is the people they surround themselves with. Those will be either the same people who push you toward success or pull you away from it. Having learned this early, McMahon was able to apply this lesson as well as the humility she gained from it by surrounding herself with people who were adding to her life and her goals, and in doing so, made a lot out of her high school career. However, beyond Coronado’s walls, she has also invested time in another important aspect of her life: her faith. 

“[Catholic Church]  I am able to be with people who have my same faith and get to see my friends,” McMahon said. “I do a lot of community service work there, including toy drives, Lent dinner, and mass purchased preparation. I also help organize parts of their religious classes as part of the youth program. I’ve been grateful to be able to get to work with my church in this.”

Through curating healthy relationships in and outside of school, McMahon has learned a lot about how to gain the best from relationships and also how to give the best in those same ones.  By learning more about the importance of positively contributing to people’s lives, she has gained a heart that is driven by mission and has participated in activities having to do with that. 

“I have done many projects, including work with a women's institute, a culinary group, art showcases, and an indigenous group,” McMahon said. “All of these projects have allowed me to appreciate other cultures and efforts made by groups who are hoping to provide information about certain topics.”

By engaging in these powerful, service-based projects and institutions, McMahon has learned a lot about working hard for what you’re passionate about. McMahon has learned about what matters most to her and the ways that she can apply her gifts to solving the social injustices and problems that are so prevalent in the world today. With a love for history as well as a love for helping others, she has been able to combine the best of many worlds through a wide array of opportunities. 

“Specifically, my work with the women’s institute was interesting because I got to help with their media relations,” McMahon said. “I worked as a social media coordinator. I assisted with leadership workshops and programming on women’s history. I created social media content and researched/wrote files of alumnae for publication.”

In all of these mission-based activities, not only has McMahon learned more about herself, but she also learned a lot about hard work. She has learned that hard work doesn’t just apply to grades but to every aspect of your life, and she has been able to exercise that skill through these experiences, in addition to a year-long research project opportunity where she got to study history’s impact on the political trends in the state of Nevada. Ultimately, she has not only learned the value and impact of social advocacy over these past four years, but also the hard work that comes with being a social advocate, which has served as a great foundation for her future plans. 

“I will attend Cornell University in Ithaca, New York,” McMahon said. “I will study Industrial and Labor Relations. I am interested in the workers’ rights/history aspect of this major. In five years, I hope to be in law school at either the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill or the University of Toronto. I’m very excited to study law after I go to college.”

Undoubtedly, her experiences, as well as the lessons learned and skills gained during her high school career in every arena of her life, have contributed to McMahon’s success in the long run. Now, she is not only going to be attending a prestigious university, but she also has attained an exceptional repertoire of knowledge that she will carry with her in her future degree and career. When noting one of the most meaningful parts of her character, this is what she said. 

“I am a hard worker,” McMahon explained. “Many people have this quality, but I find myself recognizing my hard-working self as inspiring. I have faced many challenges, including not being engaged in learning and not always understanding topics, but I’ve made sure to push through. I’ve been taught that you need to work for things you want, and I have brought that along with me successfully.”

Based on her experiences, McMahon has experienced a range of challenges and achievements throughout her time at Coronado. Through every single hill and valley, she has learned something new that has made her a better person and something that has added to her character. Whether you know her for her academics, friendships, or social advocacy, Senior Fionnuala McMahon is the epitome of what it means to be a humble, hard-working, and determined individual. Those priceless characteristics are just a few of many that she will continue to add to as she enters a new season in her life. As she closes this chapter and moves on to the next, there is no doubt that her journey and future will be just as exceptional as she is.