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KIDS WHO CARE
Malcolm Magee
Susan
Marquez
Malcolm Magee takes his position as manager
of the Pelahatchie High School basketball team
very seriously. “There is a lot to do, every day,”
he says. “I get the balls and other equipment
together and packed for travel to make sure the
water and towels and everything else is good to
go, as well as help the coaches any way I can. I
let them know if there is a problem with a player
and other things. It’s an important job, and I
love doing it.” Malcolm, a senior at Pelahatchie
High, has been the manager of the basketball
team for two years and he’s also been the football
team manager for three years. He loves sports of
any kind, although he has never been able to play.
Malcolm has had many challenges to
overcome since birth. “I had a stroke when I was
a baby,” he says. He also had a twin sister who
died at birth. Issues with his legs have resulted
in numerous surgeries over the years. At times
he has been unable to walk for months at a time,
but his attitude and motivation have kept him
going, all while he motivates others. “I have
known Malcolm for three years,” says Leslie
Hebert, Malcolm’s English teacher. “His surgeries
have been brutal on him, yet he has always been
a leader of his peers and in his community. He
takes his position as team manager with all
seriousness, including teaching the younger
athletes the ins and outs of the requirements of
being a football manager.”
A resident of the Kone Hill community near
Pelahatchie, Malcolm says he is surrounded with
a strong support system of family, friends, and
neighbors. “Pelahatchie has been a great place to
grow up, and the people here have been present
for me in my time of need.” Malcolm’s grandmother
taught school in the area. “I was really
close to her. She passed away in 2018.”
Last year Malcolm had extensive surgery
on his knee and rods were placed in his ankle.
“Then Covid struck,” he sighs. In November
2020, both his mother and his grandfather
passed away from the virus. Now Malcolm and
his sister, who is in the tenth grade, are in the
care of their aunt and uncles. His relatives
stepped up to take care of the Magee kids in
their childhood home, allowing them to remain
in the school and community where they have
been their entire life.
Malcolm says he appreciates all who have
supported him, and he loves to give back any
way he can, through service. “Although his
world has been in turmoil from the losses he
has endured, he has persevered and is on track
to graduate,” says Leslie Hebert. “He is always
giving back to his peers, teachers, school and
community. He is an amazing young man who
deserves recognition.”
Each Sunday, Malcolm sings in the choir at
two separate churches. “I put a lot of time into
that,” he says. “I really enjoy singing.” He plans
on attending college, although he has not made
a decision on where he’d like to study just yet.
“I would like to be a coach someday, so I’d like
to look into that. But if coaching doesn’t work
out, I am thinking about going into mortuary
sciences. After my mother and grandfather died
last year, I talked with some people who work in
funeral homes, and I think that would be a nice
way to help people.”
Hometown MADISON • 37