Graduated Parkersburg High School senior Jack McLean competes in the semi-finals in March at Charleston Catholic High School for the state doubles tennis tournament. Tennis was a sport McLean enjoyed and wanted to play on the school team his senior year. (Photo provided)

PARKERSBURG – Jack McLean is open to trying new things and works to make sure he has the time to experience everything he wants to do.

McLean, 18, recently graduated from Parkersburg High School and was involved in his senior year with the school’s soccer, golf and tennis teams, as well as the A Capella and Chamber choirs and numerous service clubs (Key Club, T Club and others).

He is the son of Jim and Katy McLean and brother to sisters Molly and Maggie.

He participated in soccer all four years of high school.

“I started it when I was really young,” McLean said. “I played in Vienna rec and have loved it ever since.

“I think one of my biggest likes about playing is being able to use my feet rather than my hands,” he said. “I think I’m better skilled with my feet than hands.”

McLean got involved with choir when he was younger, after his mother insisted he take it up. He was a member of the choir at Jackson Middle School, was in A Capella Choir all four years at PHS and in Chamber Choir for two years.

“I didn’t really take it seriously until A Capella and Chamber Choir at PHS,” he said. “I couldn’t have been happier to have done it.”

He sings tenor, the higher range for male voices.

“Being able to hit the high notes is really enjoyable,” he said. “I also like to be able to learn new music.”

During his time in choir, McLean liked going places around the area to perform for different people.

“The songs we sing are really good for people to hear,” he said.

One of the songs he really enjoyed singing was “Desh,” written and arranged by Ethan Sperry.

“It is an Indian piece,” McLean said. “It is not like a normal a capella song; it is more of a variety of sounds that create the piece. It is really cool.”

During his senior year, he also was on the PHS golf and tennis teams.

“I had thought about (the golf team) in previous years, but my main focus was always soccer so I wasn’t too sure about it. It didn’t seem to fit my schedule.

“I have played golf for a while and I really loved it,” McLean said. “I made the impulse decision to play for my final year.”

It was a similar story with tennis.

During the COVID pandemic, his father told him he needed to do something since everything was shut down. The Greenmont Recreation Club was nearby and he was going to either do tennis or swimming.

“I took tennis, and I really started to enjoy it,” McLean said. “Before freshman year, I decided to quit.

“I decided this year, I was going to take it back up as a final sport for my senior year. I loved it, and we ended up being really successful.”

The PHS Tennis Team captured the Region IV AAA Championship and finished as the state runners-up to George Washington High School. They also won the Cross Town Showdown in April against Parkersburg South.

In T Club and Key Club at school, McLean did a number of projects to help others in the community, including ringing bells during the Salvation Army’s Kettle Drive, collecting donations and visiting people at area nursing care facilities to play games and bring them snacks.

He was also a part of the school’s Ski Club and has skied at Snowshoe and Timberline.

“I started skiing in middle school,” McLean said. “It is my favorite hobby, to be honest. I love it a lot.”

McLean is active at St. Michael’s Catholic Church and has participated in service projects with the church such as spaghetti dinners, pancake breakfasts, helping at the local soup kitchen and more.

“I tried starting a Catholic club at school, but it did not take off like I had hoped,” he said.

McLean said it was an honor to be nominated to be prom king his senior year, even though he didn’t win.

McLean has worked for Davis Athletics for the past couple of summers and will return this summer. The company does installs playgrounds, bleachers, locker rooms and more around the state.

He was involved in building playgrounds the the Tyler Consolidated school district and in Hamlin, as well as other work in the Eastern Panhandle. He was also worked on a bleacher project at Brooke High School and a bleacher take-down at Jackson Middle School in Vienna.

McLean is planning to attend West Virginia University at Parkersburg in the fall with the goal of becoming a radiology technician, doing medical imaging for the radiologist to be review.

“I had some friends mention it,” McLean said. “I decided to look into it. It looked pretty fun. I did a little more research. It just sparked my interest.”

Once in school, he will also be working primarily at the Parkersburg Country Club to save up money, possibly for a car or some other needs. He wants to see if he might be able to start up a soccer club at WVUP.

Being involved in everything he has been has taught him how to manage his time and prioritize, which he feels will help him in college and beyond.

“Being involved in everything I am will help with the big responsibilities, time management, not procrastinating and all of those things,” he said. “It is about knowing what to get done at certain times and knowing what can wait.

“It is just managing your time the right way. That will definitely impact my future.”

Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com