How many people every day utter the phrase, “If I only had the time,” or some variant of it. For those who truly believe that to be the case, they should have a sit-down conversation with Shenandoah senior Kendall Mackie.
If she asks you why you don’t have the time, don’t be surprised if she meets your excuses with a large sigh and a heavy eye roll.
That’s because she doesn’t have time for excuses, or much of anything really. Mackie is one busy and accomplished teenager and seemingly excels in one area that many struggle with even into adulthood—finding time.
This 17-year-old could teach a graduate-level class in both time management and dogged determination.
Consider these facts. Mackie won’t reach age 18 until late July. By that point, she will have done the following:
- Graduated from high school in the Top 10 of her class;
- Graduated from Zane State College, Magna Cum Laude, with an associate degree;
- Set school records in both the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs in track;
- Qualified and competed at the regional cross-country meet (while running on a broken foot no less);
- Been inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society; and
- Worked a part-time job upwards of 25 hours per week
What was that again about not having enough time?
“My mom says if there were 10 more hours in the day, I would fill those too,” Mackie said. “I am at my best and healthiest when I am busy.”
That may require a reworking of the definition of busy. It seems a bit lacking in this instance.
Set in Motion Early
Mackie admitted she started taking high-school level classes in eighth grade. That plan would allow her to take college credit classes while in high school, and and she hoped it would shave a year off her college experience upon arrival.
College classes began her junior year of high school, and Mackie quickly discovered not only could she shave a few credit hours off her eventual work load, but that she also could obtain a degree before her collegiate career “officially” began.
Mackie’s grandmother is a retired professor from Zane State College, and Mackie credits her for helping arrange her course schedule in a way to make this possible.
“With her amazing degree of audit and schedule-organizing skills, we had a plan,” Mackie said. “I knew with this plan I would be a few classes short (of a degree), so I took a few classes between my junior and senior year.”
Mackie spent summer vacation training, working out, and also taking two of the harder classes needed to graduate. She organized it in this fashion since the extra time in the summer afforded her the ability to devote the proper time required by the increased difficulty.
She began attending Zane State 100 percent of the time, fully online, her senior year.
“This offered flexibility but also called upon me to be ultra-organized and follow a rigid, sometimes unpleasant schedule and be exceptionally responsible with my time,” Mackie said. “To me, it was worth it. I am not afraid of working hard.”
You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who’ll argue with that statement.
Break? What Break?
When Mackie starts something, she finishes it. When she sets a goal, she achieves it. To fall short of doing so is not an option.
After not making it out of the district round of the Division III cross-country postseason as a junior, Mackie’s goal was to advance to the regional round.
She achieved that goal, placing ninth at the district meet in Cambridge, this after finishing third in Class AA at the OVAC Meet. She did so whilst running on a broken foot.
“I remember the day I hurt my foot. I was running and felt a sharp pain,” Mackie recalled. “I did not know it was broken. I knew it hurt. I also knew it was my last season at Shenandoah.
“They say with runners it’s not if you get hurt; it’s when.
“But I don’t miss sports practice or events. I am at every race, every optional practice; I practice before practice and go extra after.”
Mackie’s parents didn’t know it was broken; neither did head cross country coach Craig Sebring. Mackie noted that, “He never would have let me run on it,” if he knew.
She finally saw a doctor after the regional meet. An injury that Mackie originally thought was just another pain required a cast. And then a boot. And then physical therapy.
“Do I regret not going sooner? Absolutely not,” Mackie admitted. “Running at the regionals was my goal. I did not run my best there, but I am proud I went, proud I ran and proud I finished.”
Adding to the degree of difficulty, Mackie also battled salmonella poisoning the week of the regional meet.
Actual College Plans
Mackie plans to major in business, and earlier this school year she decided to join the Muskingum family to continue her academic and athletic pursuits just done the road in New Concord.
It wasn’t her initial first choice. In fact, it wasn’t a choice at all. It was the last place she wanted to go.
“I was dead set on not going there,” Mackie admitted. “My mom, aunt, and great aunt all graduated from there. My sister is a junior there now. I am a Muskingum legacy.
“I planned on going somewhere else.”
Mackie admitted her mom made her go on a visit. She got accepted to 8 or 9 total schools and was contacted by four other Division II track coaches to meet about possibly attending their institutions. She took in-person visits and participated in virtual tours.
But something about Muskingum fittingly felt right.
“In the end, it felt like the best fit,” Mackie said. “I had spent some time there running the campus, and it felt like the perfect fit. The coaches spoke my language, and it just seemed to have what I was searching for in other programs and campuses.”
Mackie plans to pull the trifecta, running cross country in the fall, indoor track in the winter, and outdoor in the spring.
Surely, since she’s already halfway to a bachelor’s degree in terms of credit hours, she can lighten her schedule to make it easier to participate in all three sports. Right?
In the words of Lee Corso, ‘not so fast my friend.’
“My degree from Muskingum requires 124 credits and I will come in with 63,” Mackie said. “My goal is to graduate by the age of 19 and I have a plan which will allow me to graduate with my bachelor’s within two years.
“Once I am further in my education, I will determine if I continue on for my master’s directly after.
“I will be participating in all three sports. I run every day anyway. Why not do it with a team and great coaches to make me better?”
True and True. So, remember, the next time you think you can’t possibly fit something into your schedule, remember Kendall Mackie and realize you most assuredly can.
