McCormick & Company presents their annual McCormick Unsung Heroes where they honor high school athletes who have been models of sportsmanship and team. The 2020 McCormick Unsung Heroes Awards will take place in a virtual format on May 11. Every school in the region has a male and female athlete nominated for the award and Eastbaltco.com will profile each athlete from eastern Baltimore County over the next week. Eastern Tech, Mount Carmel, Patapsco, Perry Hall, Chesapeake have already been profiled.
Parkville
Girls soccer player Korionna “Kori” Skinner and Football player Da’Vaghn Curbeam are the two nominees from the school.
Korionna “Kori” Skinner
Coach Emily Wolf has coached Skinner for four years and said she is a true role model for her peers both on the field and in the classroom.
“Academically, Kori excels and is in the top 10 percent of Parkville’s graduating class. She participates in our magnet program as well as our AVID program. Electing to meet the requirements of both of these programs is a testament to Kori’s dedication to her education and desire to be the best version of herself,” Wolf said.
“Kori has even opted to take two of her graduation requirements at the college level in order to maintain space in her schedule to take all of the courses that she was interested in here at Parkville. After high school, Kori plans to pursue a degree in political science and pre-law.”
Wolf added that Skinner was born with albinism which had an impact on the senior’s vision.
“Not only was she learning and developing in her sport(s), but she also had to figure out how to accommodate the limitations of her eyesight. Never did Kori use this obstacle as an excuse to not work hard or keep trying to improve,” Wolf said.
“She also never complained about this disadvantage and would often advocate for her abilities.”
Skinner was also described as someone with a positive attitude and as a teammate that encourages others. She is one of the last athletes to leave the field. That included waiting for teammates to finish up running laps after practice.
“The mark of an unsung hero is someone who is willing to do things that no one else wants to do. And the last thing teenage athletes want to do after a tough practice or a long bus ride is to put away equipment<" Wolf said.
"As trivial as equipment duties may seem, I believe it truly represents Kori’s character that she would always volunteer to help and even pick up her teammates’ slack to make sure that the task was done. Not only did Kori care about helping her teammates, she cared about helping her coaches as well."
Da’Vaghn Curbeam
Curbeam played both football and lacrosse. On the football field, Curbeam help the Knights to 9-0 regular season. Curbeam was a running back on offense and played cornerback on defense.
In an opening playoff game, Curbeam had an interception and fumble recovery in a 49-0 win over Wheaton. It was the first playoff win in team history.
Curbeam and the Knights made it to the 4A State Quarterfinals before losing to Old Mill.
