Shannon McGuinness never missed a day

Shannon McGuinness, an 18-year-old senior from East Meadow High School will be graduating on Sunday with the achievement of having perfect attendance from kindergarten until graduating from high school.
   
McGuinness knew from a young age what her goal was going to be for her future as a student.  She saw a picture of a student in the paper who was being honored for having perfect attendance all through school, and she decided she was going to do the same.

The goal was not always easy for McGuinness to stick to, but as she says, “I was driven.”
   

McGuinness experienced many days when she did not feel like going to school. She recalled a specific Valentine’s Day when she was physically ill but still made it to school, always having her goal in mind.
   
According to McGuinness, striving to be at school all of the time was a different accomplishment since a lot of students try their hardest to get out of going to school, she said.
   
The attendance paid off though — McGuinness was an honors student in high school and a member of the soccer team, track team, marching band. She is also a dancer. McGuinness was accepted into an honors college at the University of Maryland — Baltimore County to study psychology. She also plans to play soccer for UMBC.
  
McGuinness said she will continue to strive to keep her perfect attendance record intact during her time at UMBC.