06/24/2026
McKenzie's path to graduation was anything but a straight line. After losing both parents as a teenager, she graduated high school navigating grief and instability, with college far from her mind.
She spent years exploring her options — considering the military, trying a tattoo apprenticeship, dog-sitting — before deciding to give college a chance at NECC.
Once enrolled, she switched majors from education to biology after discovering she preferred the lab over the classroom. Then, during her second semester, she learned she was pregnant. McKenzie chose to strategically take a step back, regrouped, and came back stronger than ever— completing her finals just three days after giving birth!
With support from PACE Program at Northern Essex Community College TRIO SSS and professors who believed in her, she earned her associate degree in biology, transferred to UMass Lowell to pursue a bachelor’s in biotechnology, landed a job as a laboratory analyst, and moved into her first apartment — all while raising her son 💙
For students who feel like they’re falling behind or taking the long way around, McKenzie has a message: “It’s okay to have to do things multiple times. It’s okay if it takes longer. You’ll still get there.”
🔗Read McKenzie’s full story on the NECC Newsroom: https://necc.edu/newsroom/2026/05/18/biology-grad-determined-to-build-a-better-future/