User:Mmm70

Name

My name has caused people a lot of problems throughout my life. I can get anything from muh-kuh-luh to man-clay-lah depending on the day. All I have to say is that's not my name The Ting Tings-That's Not My Name My first name, Mahkayla, is pronounced muh-kay-luh or muh-kay-lah. My last name, McKenzie, is pronounced muh-ken-zee.

Family

Parents

My father, Reginald McKenzie, was born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1963. He attended the University of Tennessee and went on to play seven years in the NFL and one year in the Canadian Football League. He is now works for the Super bowl Champion Green Bay Packers! Go Pack!

My mother, June D. McKenzie, was born in McComb, Mississippi in 1965 and moved to Los Angeles, California when she was 15. She attended the University of California Los Angeles and went on to receive her JD at Pepperdine University. She is now a stay at home mom.

Siblings

Sister

I have one older sister named Jasmin Dolores McKenzie who is 19 years old. She was born in Inglewood, California. She is a sophomore at Wheaton College and she is my absolute best friend!

Brothers

I have two younger brothers who are both over 6 feet. My older younger brother is Reginald Kahlil McKenzie, jr. and is 6 ft 4 in. He was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He is 14 years old and a freshman in high school. He is also on Team USA for the U-15 football team! My youngest brother is Jalen Elijah McKenzie and he is 6 ft 1/4 in. He was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He is 11 years old and a seventh grader. His baseball team was one game away from the Little League World Series!

Pets

I have two lovely dogs. The oldest is named Autumn and she is almost 12 years old. She is a pure bred yellow lab and has more energy than a one year old puppy. The youngest is named Hunley and he just turned 6 years old. He is a mixture of all kinds of things so we do not know exactly what breed to call him so I just call him a wolf. (Black lab mixed with springer spaniel is probably more accurate but who cares.) We took him home with us after visiting one of my dad's old friend and his family in Cinncinati. It was a long drive for him but I am so very glad we took him home with us. I love my puppies!

Travel

I have been out of the country three times and each time it was for soccer. The summer before sixth grade my whole family traveled to Australia with Sports Tours. When we arrived in Australia we discovered that Sports Tours had messed up and not even entered my sister's or my team into the tournament. Even with this major disappointment it was an amazing trip! The summer before my freshman year my mother, sister, and I traveled to Italy to participate in the San Marino Cup and we lost in the quater-finals. The summer before my junior year I traveled to Austria to play in the World Festival of Sports and we won a bronze medal.

Grand Challenges Articles

• Clean Water for the Win!!!
  • Armani Takes Up a Cause , Suzy Menkes, The New York Times, created 21 March 2011, accessed 22 September 2011 (Provide access to clean water)
  • Water's Scarcity Spells Opportunity for Entrepreneurs , Erica Gies, The New York Times, created 21 March 2011, accessed 22 September 2011 (Provide access to clean water)

Random

I love reading, playing soccer, watching football, and baking.

I once thought a dead rat was a kitty so I proceeded to pet it. My mother was horrified when she walked into the living room and found me saying "Kitty, Kitty" to a dead rat. I do not believe my hands have ever been as clear as they were after that day when my mother finished sanitizing them.

I am not really a big fan of basketball which made a lot of my friends question why I chose to come to Duke. I was thinking maybe institutes of higher education are, i don't know, for people to attain a degree of higher education? Maybe I'm going out on a limb here but maybe people choose colleges for the college aspect? Or maybe this could just be me?