Top 10 Spotlight: Kelsi McDonough Loves to Lead

by Ronnie Zamora/LFCISD

Kelsi McDonough is simply a leader.

Not only was she the captain of the Lady Falcons’ basketball team, she was President of the Los Fresnos High School Chapter of RGV Lead, and was selected as a 2015 National Hispanic Scholar and AP Scholar.

The daughter of Jimmy and Suzie McDonough she is among the top 10 students in the LFHS Class of 2016. Her older brother Brendan was the third-ranked student in Class of 2014.

To students in other schools, she was known as the leader of RGV Lead, a regional organization which partners with local schools and business entities to develop leadership qualities while fostering partnerships between local business and academic institutions.

“RGV Lead bridges the gap between college and high school education and helps student transition into the business word after their college experience,” Kelsi said.

“We are the regional ambassadors.”

Kelsi and about 12 other LFHS ambassadors organized dozens of presentations such as peer-to-peer awareness, college essay workshops, workshops for parents, college preparation workshops. They have reached out to middle schools students to help make them more college-ready.

“I used to be more shy and I wasn’t comfortable speaking in front of huge crowds before,” Kelsi said. “Thanks for the opportunities provided by RGV Lead, I’ve been able to come out of my shell and speak to hundreds of people.”

The LFHS group also spoke at to teachers and principals an education convention at South Padre Island about the club to influence others to bring the program to their schools.

On the basketball court, Keisi was the team captain for two years. She was all-district for two years, and was named Academic All-State this year. She also participated in track for three years.

Her basketball career started when she was 4 years old in pre-Kindergarten at St. Mary’s School in Brownsville. She made many friends playing basketball in the Boys’ Club of Brownsville, and on club basketball teams, where many of her teammates play for Brownsville Veterans Memorial High School.

“My dad raised me as never giving up and not letting anything stop me from pushing and trying my hardest,” Kelsi said. “When I was 7 years old in first grade kickball, and I slid into a base and got a bad gash on my knee. I remember sitting there and crying. Usually parents run out to comfort their children. My dad came out, looked me and said ‘you’re OK, suck it up.’ So I just sucked it up and kept playing.”

In basketball, Kelsi the point guard started playing varsity basketball as a freshman and played sparingly that year. “It was really a big shock from being on the bench my freshman year to being the starting point guard my sophomore year. Coach (Kim) Edquist wanted to dip my toes on the varsity because she realized that I would be a starting point guard in my sophomore year.”

A point guard is like a football quarterback, calling many plays and making instant decisions.

“It was a lot of responsibility to be the point guard, especially as a sophomore with seniors on the team,” Kelsi said. “Sometimes it was scary, but my coach trusted me to make those decisions. There’s a lot going on, and focus on what’s going on, like where you will pass the ball to next. We had about 50 plays and I had to decide many of them.”

She started three years, was first-team all-district guard, and played on the RGVCA East-West All-Star game.

“When I was little, I would always tell myself that I would play college basketball. But when I got to high school, I realized it would not be easy. I realized I could either play basketball at a small college, or go to a prestigious university for my academics. I wanted to focus more on my academics, because I figured it would be an easier ticket to a great college.

“It’s sad knowing that my competitive basketball days are over, but I can still compete in intramurals in college.”

She and teammate Cristi Garza, also a top 10 student in the class, were rivals in middle school but the two developed a close friendship in high school. “I was the offensive leader and she was the defensive leader, so there was a cool dynamic between us.”

Cristi and Kelsi helped each other during basketball bus trips and tournaments, and would study frequently on the bus and in the bleachers between tournament games. “We had a lot of AP classes together. Everyone would look at us weird when we had our textbooks open in the bleachers at tournaments. But we knew it was important, and we had to prioritize that.”

Another influence on her life has been big brother Brendan, the third-ranked student in the LFHS Class of 2014 who is attending The University of Texas.

“A lot my teachers had him as a student which was scary, and they expected me to be as smart as dedicated as him, or even more so, and that influenced me. He’s my inspiration. He’s my big brother and I’ve looked up to him all of my life.”

Kelsi has worked as hard to keep up with Brendan’s achievements and studied just as hard. Another tough decision was deciding whether or not to follow her brother to college in Austin.

She plans to major in Business like her brother, but chose to attend Texas A&M University. She received the Century scholarship and smaller scholarships to Texas A&M.

“My dad already has the ‘House Divided’ flag at our house.”

Her advice to younger students:

“Try anything you want to try. Put academics first, and make a high school a fun experience where you learn exactly who you are. Make your own decisions to see what you want to do but of course, put academics first.”