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Maggie Mahota

GRADUATE OF OUR LADY OF THE LAKE IN MOUND BRINGS FAITH AND LEADERSHIP TO CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL

When Catholic school graduates venture out into the wider world, they do so with a firm foundation beneath them. For Maggie Mahota, a 2014 graduate of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic School (OLL) in Mound, her K–8 experience allowed her to hit the ground running in high school.

“I felt very prepared when I went into my classes,” she said. “I wasn’t completely sure what to expect, but after a couple of weeks, or even a week, I felt very ready for it — like I knew what I was doing.”

Now a sophomore at Holy Family Catholic High School in Victoria, Mahota is thriving. She’s taking a variety of advanced and honors courses and competes on three sports teams — soccer, Nordic skiing and track. This year she was chosen as captain of the Nordic ski team, an honor usually reserved for seniors. And she’s a member of Health Club, a group of students that raises awareness and money for different health conditions. In her spare time, she volunteers at her alma mater, OLL, helping at school events like the fall spaghetti dinner and working in the office over the summer.

Becky Kennedy, Mahota’s ninth-grade honors geometry teacher at Holy Family (and new principal at OLL), said that’s not surprising.

“Maggie is a hard-working, independent student. But more than that, she is loving and welcoming,” Kennedy said. “When our students walk out this door, I want them to know God, know how to share their faith, and be confident in doing that, wherever they are. Maggie is a very confident person in what she knows and what she stands up for.”

Jackie Meyer, middle school music and social studies specialist at OLL, agrees.

“Maggie puts her best in everything she does,” she said. “Her eighth-grade year we had a Christian play, and she took the lead. The role was a strong woman with strong values, and she was very convincing — the role fit her because of her belief system.”

Of course, Mahota, like all her classmates, came to OLL with her strengths already in place, but in her initiative, openness and generosity, she exemplifies the best of Catholic education.

Said Meyer, “It’s like a little flower — it has to be watered and cultivated and loved and warmed by the sunshine. Maggie started out very quiet and shy, and she blossomed into a self-sufficient leader. Catholic school really was good for her.”

As for Mahota, she said she’s grateful for her years at OLL.

“I didn’t just know of the kids in my class; I really knew them,” she said. “We were like a family there. My experience at OLL and Holy Family makes me realize how lucky I am.”

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