MHS Senior Profile: 'Hard Work Does Pay Off'

Mary Flick couldn't have asked for a better end to her senior year.

Closing out the year with yet another girls lacrosse state championship—Moorestown's second in a row—as well as a No. 1 national ranking would have been satisfying enough. 

But Mary said some were skeptical that she and her fellow seniors—who went 25-0 this year—could carry on the legacy the Moorestown girls lacrosse team has cultivated over the better part of the last three decades.

"(Winning the Tournament of Champions) this year was definitely more special than last year," said Mary, 17. "Because 2013 was the doubted class ... We proved to everyone how good we were. It's a great accomplishment."

She'll continue to play lacrosse, which she picked up in third grade, at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA, this fall.

Though the school's athletic offerings were a significant motivating factor in Mary's decision to attend—"I can't imagine not playing"—she said the school's academic reputation also influenced her.

Mary plans to study kinesiology—the scientific study of human movement—and health sciences, with an eye on a possible career in physical therapy, maybe even one day opening her own private practice. 

"I'm a people person. I need to be active and doing something and talking to people," she said. 

Growing up in Moorestown her whole life, surrounded by the same friends, and the same teammates, Mary said she's definitely nervous about stepping outside her comfort zone.

"We're all kind of living in our own bubble," she said.

But she's ready to take the next step, and continue to live by the main lesson she learned as student athlete at Moorestown High School: "It's a little cheesy, but hard work actually does pay off."

This is the first in a series of profiles of Moorestown High School seniors leading up to graduation on Thursday. The commencement ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.