McKenzie College Fund

The Short Story

McKenzie has beaten all of the odds as a prospective low-income, first-generation college student. She has also overcome some of the worst that life has to offer: homelessness, abuse,  and poverty. Even worse, McKenzie unexpectedly lost her mother last summer, right  before her senior year of high school. Somehow, McKenzie has remained a positive and open-minded person through all these ordeals. 

In fact, last week McKenzie graduated from Monticello High School with a 3.8 GPA and was accepted to nearly 10 different colleges.

The school with the best financial aid and the best fit was Bridgewater College. Although Bridgewater is providing significant financial aid (because McKenzie and her father do not have very much money) there is still a $5,000 financial aid gap each year  for McKenzie and her father to fill, not including loans. 

Let's help this deserving and extremely hard-working young woman get through college with more financial security so she can go on and fulfill her dreams. McKenzie plans to study forensic science or psychology and would love to one day become involved in law enforcement as a detective or a forensic scientist. 

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The Long(er) Story 

I first met McKenzie in 2015  when she and I were paired together through the Music Resource Center (MRC) in Charlottesville, VA. The MRC matches low-income students with local musicians for free music lessons.  I think drums and music have allowed McKenzie see the potential in herself and unlock all sorts of talent.

When we first met, McKenzie couldn't read music and had never really played the drums. About a year later, she was on stage with a touring band, confidently going through one of her favorite songs in front of hundreds of people. She was also a member of the drum line in her high school marching band and had formed her own rock group, too. In just that first year, McKenzie made huge progress as I pushed her to challenge herself in our lessons. Looking back, I think McKenzie relished the high standard we set for her music. To say that she thrived is an understatement.

The other part our "deal" with drum lessons was that McKenzie needed to pick up her grades. When we met, she was finishing her freshman year of high school and was not serious about schoolwork. She was a solid B/C student and didn't really know if she wanted to go to college. 

I made a very simple deal with McKenzie: she needed to earn all A's and a B, or close to that, or else drum lessons would have to wait.

In a very short amount of time McKenzie transformed herself into a far more serious student. With some prompting, McKenzie began to take more challenging honors classes in high school and figured out how to get the grades she needed and now wanted. She studied more, she did extra credit, and she put the work in. As a senior, McKenzie signed up for three dual-enrollment classes through our local community college. 

Then, right before her senior year began, McKenzie unexpectedly lost her mother. Her mother's  death was a shock to her system, one that could easily have derailed all of her plans. McKenzie was very close to her mom, who was her biggest fan and  fiercest defender. 

Facing this new reality, McKenzie once again showed her character. She stuck to her classwork and found the help she needed. She found support through her church's youth group and got even more involved in some of Charlottesville's great nonprofits, Computers 4 Kids and ReadyKids. She was determined to stay on track to honor her mother's belief in her. 

McKenzie is a quiet, modest, and sweet person. She is  unassuming but she is also determined. She craves new experiences and she knows that a new life awaits her after high school. During our drum lessons and weekly conversations about life at home and school, McKenzie has revealed herself to be a young woman of unquestionable strength and deep emotional maturity.

As far as I know, nobody thought McKenzie should even apply to college, much less a selective liberal arts college. Her high school counselor and her extended family members did not seem to have high hopes for her. She will be the first in her family to earn a college degree.

Just this past week McKenzie graduated from Monticello High School with a 3.8 GPA. Once she does enroll at Bridgewater College this fall, I know she will succeed—I have seen her overcome far more difficult challenges in the past few years. I am honored to be a part of her life and excited to see her move confidently towards her next step.

Let's raise the money to help McKenzie leave college with a bit more financial security and the confidence of knowing  her community is fully behind her.