Local Scholar Athlete a National Finalist in Wendy's Heisman Trophy Race

Devin McDermott, 17, had plenty of reasons to be confident about applying to the Wendy's High School Heisman Trophy award. After all, she participates in three sports, the National Honor Society, student advisory board, the student government association, yearbook staff and community service.

But in reading the extensive application and seeing that the award drew an avergage of about 30,000 applicants a year, Devin was a little daunted at first. Her mother reminded her that someone has to win.

So Devin spent hours on the application, hoping that just maybe she could at least make a showing in the state.

A few weeks later she found out she was her school's winner. Last week she found out she was one of 52 female state winners. On Thursday an official from Wendy's Restaurant came to Lakewood Ranch High School to announce that she is a national finalist, just one of six female athletes who will fly to New York to compete for the award.

There is also a trophy for the male athlete of the year. All together there are 12 finalists out of 48,000 applicants this year for Wendy's Heisman Trophy.

After hearing she was a national finalist, Devin was interviewed by numerous members of the media and then headed back to classes where a cameraman from ESPN followed her around to put together a highlights video of a typical day in Devin's life, which will be shown during the awards ceremony in New York next month.

The ceremony in New York will also be televised Dec. 10 on ESPN.

“The Wendy’s High School Heisman Award celebrates high school seniors across the country who excel in academics, athletics and community service,” said Archie Griffin, two-time collegiate Heisman Trophy winner, who will present the Heisman to the two winners in New York.

Ask Devin what made her application stand out and she blushes. "Well I don't like to brag about myself," she replies. She says she tries to maintain balance with all that she does, including her volunteer work, three part-time jobs, leadership roles in school and her sports.

"I want to be well-rounded," she said.

Her mom isn't too shy to talk about all that Devin does. "She will have about 600 community service hours by the time she graduates," said Sherri Lyn McDermott. (Devin officially has 518 as of early this month according to the school). She's involved with 11 clubs, she has leadership roles in several. She is a scholar who loves sports. She's a master at time management.

McDermott, who participates in soccer, track and cross country at Lakewood Ranch, is a three sport, three time scholar athlete award winner and a member of her high school's honor society. She is a national elite runner, has competed in the regional and state finals and has set school records for running. This year she plans to try weightlifting with the Lakewood Ranch girls team.

She is also involved in several school activities, including the student council, history club, school publications and the Quill and Scroll. She is in the International Key Club.

Tomas A. Zellars, assistant principal at Lakewood Ranch who had to review her application before it could be submitted to Wendy's, said that Devin is altruistic, something that is rare in a teenager.

One of the reasons she applied, he said, is because the school receives money for the top winners. Lakewood Ranch will receive $2,000 because Devin is a national finalist. If she wins the Heisman trophy, the school will receive $10,000.

Principal Linda Nesselhauf said "Devin defines giving."

"She gives her best for other people," Nesselhauf said. As a runneer, "she trains constantly, not for herself, but to improve her team's time. That's the type of person she is."

She's a member of the school's transitional team. When a student is new to campus, Devin is one of a handful of students designated to help the student get comfortable. She has lunch with the student and shows him or her around the school.

Her principal said she is "well-rounded, but grounded."

She's modest about her accomplishments and let's them speak for themselves. She's well known around the school, because she's involved in everything.

For more information about the High School Heisman program and to view all the state winners and finalists, visit www.WendysHeisman.com.