Senior Interview with Maria Cade

Maria starring as Tracy Turnblad in her senior musical, Hairspray

Maria starring as Tracy Turnblad in her senior musical, “Hairspray”

Matt Moore, Feature Editor

Tracy Turnblad. Distinguished Young Woman. National Honor Society President. Senior Class Secretary. Henry Mancini Award Nominee for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Next: New Castle High School graduate.

To put it quite simply, Maria Cade has done it all.

Over the course of her four years as a student at Ne-Ca-Hi, Maria has represented the absolute best New Castle Area School District has to offer, inside and outside the walls and boundaries of school buildings. Within the community, she has consistently served as an example of New Castle’s limitless talent, promise, and potential. 

She has been a multi-year member of National Honor Society, Senior High Student Council, Gifted program, Model United Nations, Extreme Leadership, Forensics Team, Eye of the Hurricane school newspaper, musical theater, and more. Just last year, as a Junior, she claimed the title of Lawrence County’s Distinguished Young Woman for the graduating class of 2018.

I recently caught up with Maria to discuss the past, present, and future as she prepares to claim yet another title: New Castle High School graduate.

Matt: What are the first words that come to mind when you think about your senior year, and more specifically your time at Ne-Ca-Hi, coming to end?

Maria: Grateful, Humbled, and Thankful.

Matt: As the current DYW, what is the advice that you would give to the next Distinguished Young Woman of Lawrence County, Miss Angelina Domenick, a fellow Ne-Ca-Hi student? Any final thoughts as your year as the current DYW comes to a close? 

Maria: As my year comes to a close, and my chapter as The Distinguished Young Woman of Lawrence County comes to an end, another girl’s chapter is just beginning. As I come to the end of my journey with this program, I excitedly look forward to passing the title on to Angelina Domenick, a very well-deserved young woman, a dear friend of mine, and fellow Red Hurricane! Twenty-nine young women have undergone rigorous weeks-long rehearsal periods and have displayed their unique talents, physical fitness abilities, public speaking skills, stage presence, and their ability to express themselves and their thoughts. I have had the privilege of getting to work with these young women, and I am so proud of the progress they have made. I can attest that each finalist has had their own personal period of growth throughout this process, just like I did at this time last year. I know that Angelina will carry on the spirit of DYW with grace, passion, and dignity, just as I hope I have done. I am thankful for every opportunity I have been given this year. DYW will always be apart of me, and will remain the experience that I am most proud of. I will always be humbled and thankful to have been the Distinguished Young Woman of Lawrence County.

Matt: What will you be majoring in and minoring in as a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill?

Maria: I will be majoring in Broadcast Journalism at UNC-CH. I have also considered minoring in Vocal Performance, to continue fostering my love for music.

Matt: As a featured senior editor of the Eye of the Hurricane, what advice would you give to up-and-coming school newspaper editors and journalists?

Maria: I would tell all future Eye of the Hurricane journalists to pay attention to deadlines! Mr. Abe is a very great advisor and you will have an enjoyable experience in Journalism. We love to express “Deadlines & Headlines!” as our motto in New Castle High’s Journalism department. Being a Feature Writer, Feature Editor, and now Senior Editor with the Eye of the Hurricane will always be one of my fondest memories of high school. 

Matt: You used to express New York University as your dream school of choice for post-high school education. How did you make the difficult decision between NYU and UNC?

Maria: After a long and difficult decision, I decided on attending on attending UNC. I am so excited to expand my horizons at Chapel Hill.

As a lucky friend and colleague of Maria, I speak on the behalf of many, many people at Ne-Ca-Hi in saying that we will dearly miss her talents, presence, and personality, and in wishing her the absolute best of luck in all future endeavors!

Matt & Maria attending Prom 2018