Clover Hill senior Madeline Shumate gives her final salute to the Cavaliers as she will walk the graduation stage, May 20, 2025. Shumate’s departure is far from quiet, due to the legacy she has left behind.
“Clover Hill has just given me so many opportunities that I don’t think I would have had if I ended up anywhere else. I’m so grateful that I chose to come to Math-Sci at Clover Hill because it has given me everything I could have asked for,” Shumate said.
Shumate received many impressive recognitions throughout her high school career, including the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen’s Award, being nominated and attending Girl’s State as a State delegate and City election official, participating in Model County Government and as a Chesterfield county Election Page.
“Girls State is not something everybody gets to do. It taught me so much about my community and the veteran community, and my country in general. We learned a lot about democracy and how we can help our country and make sure it’s strong,” Shumate said.
Along with Shumate’s achievements, she made an incredible impact on the Clover Hill Choral Department. During
In Shumate’s sophomore and junior year, she was part of Iridescence, an all girls show choir group at Clover Hill. Junior year in particular, Shumate was not only the dance caption of Iridescence, but also doubling in the boys and girls show choir group, New Dimensions, in addition to being their dance caption and Alto section leader.
“Choir taught me resilience and perseverance. When I first started choir, I auditioned and did not get into the group I wanted originally. All of my friends were in the other group. That was my first example of resilience to do what I was supposed to do and to be a good choir student. I eventually got into the group I wanted to, so that was really exciting,” Shumate said.
There was no shortage of the appearance of choir in Shumate’s senior year. Her last year of high school consisted of attending another year in New Dimensions and joining the Advanced choral group, Acropolis, as an out of class member.
“Learning music and learning choreography is a very difficult process, so I learned to always try my hardest, keep my head up, and persevere through the hard moments,” Shumate said.
When she’s not singing or dancing, Shumate can be found on the Clover Hill Volleyball court. She played Volleyball for Clover Hill all four years of high school, earning the title of team captain her sophomore year.
“I had always wanted to do Volleyball, and I also knew that I wanted to do an activity at the beginning of my freshman year to just make friends and make the transition into high school a little bit easier. So I tried out, made the team, and I’ve done it all four years and it’s just been one of my favorite activities I’ve ever done,” Shumate said.
In the fall of 2025, Shumate will be attending Syracuse University. She will be studying Political Science and Journalism. Shumate has touched many lives and truly left her mark at Clover Hill High School. It was an honor to call her a Cavalier.
“Don’t wish away the moments, don’t say that you can’t wait for it to be over, just appreciate it while you’re in it, hug your friends extra tight, take that picture you don’t think you will want, because you will end up wanting it. Just cherish all the moments,” Shumate said.
