Mount Pleasant High School senior, Connelly Cowan, was recently selected as the MPHS Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Good Citizen.

The Martha Laird Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution sponsors the DAR Good Citizen program in our area. This contest is designed to honor an outstanding young person in a high school’s senior class who demonstrates the four qualities of a DAR Good Citizen: Dependability, Service, Leadership, and Patriotism.

Cowan has held numerous leadership roles in campus organizations. She is a two-year Captain of the Debate team, Vice-President of the National Honor Society, and Captain of the UIL Current Events team. She has also served as Debate team President and Class President while in high school.

In addition to leadership, service to the community is another important characteristic that good citizens possess. Cowan is the founder and operator of Connelly’s Classroom, an annual school supply drive providing school supplies to students in remote areas of Guatemala. Started in 2012 when she was just seven-years-old, Connelly’s Classroom has provided over 15,000 individual supplies to areas of Guatemala like Sarstun and Chocola. She has also spent time volunteering at Titus County Cares and with the Pilot Club League of Dreams.

Cowan is a two-time UIL state champion in Informative Extemporaneous Speaking and holds four additional UIL state medals in Cross Examination and Congressional Debate. She is a National Merit Commended Scholar and a 2021 Texas State Board of Education Student Hero. She has received Academic Blanket Awards for

Pre-AP English I, Pre-AP Chemistry, AP Chemistry, and Dual Credit Physics. She is undecided on where she will attend college, but she is planning to major in Government or Political Science with plans to attend Law School.

Being selected as the MPHS Good Citizen provides Cowan the opportunity to participate in the scholarship portion of the program at the local Chapter level. Each contest entry will be evaluated by independent, non-DAR judges and the winning entry will advance through the state and national levels of judging. She is the daughter of Collin and Kelly Cowan.

Photo: Connelly Cowan with MPHS Principal, Craig Bailey