Maddie Taylor named Carl ’63 & Jean McDonald Outstanding Senior at Maryville College
April 15, 2023
Maddie Taylor, a senior Political Science major from Arlington, Tennessee, has been named the 2022 Carl ’63 & Jean McDonald Outstanding Senior at Maryville College.
Known as the Alumni Association-sponsored “Outstanding Senior Award” from 1974 until 2021, the award was renamed in 2022 to honor MC alumnus Carl McDonald ’63 and his wife, Jean, who funded it for nearly 30 years before establishing an endowment for it. It is one of the most prestigious awards presented at the annual Academic Awards Ceremony, recognizing a senior who has been active in a broad range of activities; who most exemplifies the “ideal” Maryville College graduate; and who has the potential to be an outstanding alumnus.
According to Dr. Scott Henson, associate professor of Political Science at the College and Taylor’s advisor, she checks all of the prerequisites for the honor, which was given out at the 2022-23 Academic Awards ceremony on April 15 in the Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre of the Clayton Center for the Arts.
I think of Maddie as the Mary Poppins of students — that ‘practically perfect in every way’ type,” Henson said to attendees of the ceremony. “Diligent in the classroom, always prepared for advising meetings, and over-achiever in her Senior Study. When Maddie told me that she planned to collect data on every election in the last two cycles and then compare outcomes for all women candidates along with their ideological perspectives, I was tempted to suggest pulling back a little on her ambition.
“But then I thought, ‘This is Maddie Taylor I’m dealing with. Let’s see where this goes. It might be fun to watch.’ It took her an extra half-semester but as usual, Maddie had planned ahead by starting her thesis a semester early. She finished on time and made it look ‘almost’ easy.”
During her time at Maryville College, Taylor — who will graduate in May with a minor in Sociology and a certification in Non-profit Leadership from MC — served as an Ambassador with the Office of Admissions, as an orientation leader with the Maryville College Peer Mentors, and was involved in the student organization Best Buddies. She served on the Student Programming Board and the Student Conduct Board and recently completed her service as president of the Student Government Association at MC.
Overall, Henson noted, her resume boasts 12 student leadership roles, five mentoring and internship positions — including interning last summer in London with the organization One Young World “to create opportunities for young leaders who created initiatives that work to solve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”
As a McGill Scholar, she’s maintained the consistent GPA necessary to renew the full-tuition scholarship each year; she recently served on the organizing committee of the Witherspoon Lecture Series, helping bring to campus the hosts of the popular political podcast “Pantsuit Politics” to campus; served as a resident assistant for the past two years; and is active in numerous other organizations. In recognition for her work, Taylor – a graduate of Arlington High School – was also named one of two winners of the John W. Burgess Award for meritorious achievement in the field of political science during Saturday night’s ceremony.
“Maddie, I think we can all say that you made this place better, and you made us better by your kindness and goodwill, and by your exemplary conduct in every way,” Henson said in his introduction. “Because we don’t give a Mary Poppins award, I guess nomination for Outstanding Senior will have to suffice. It’s a greatly deserved honor.”
Only those seniors with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 are considered for nomination for the Carl ’63 & Jean McDonald Outstanding Senior Award. A committee that includes student, faculty and staff representation is given the responsibility of choosing five finalists. Those finalists are invited to respond in writing to questions about their view of their future role as alumni of Maryville College, their goals for the future and their understanding of how the College has influenced them and helped shape those goals.
Other finalists for the award included Kris Seiber, an elementary education major from Maryville; Ellen Rossano, a psychology major from Farragut, Tennessee; Parker Owens, a health and wellness promotion major from Caryville, Tennessee; and Emily Jo Christian, a management major from Church Hill, Tennessee.
