J.A. Campbell scholar fell in love with school’s ’community’

Editor's Note: This is the first in a series on the winners of this year's competitive full-ride J.A. Campbell Scholarship. Today's spotlight features Wisconsin native MacKenzie Whitaker.

Before the words "full ride" were ever considered, MacKenzie Whitaker fell in love with Campbell University.

A native of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin - a small town sandwiched between Milwaukee and Chicago - Whitaker and her family spent spring breaks throughout her childhood at her grandparents' home in South Carolina. Those vacations included side trips to the beach and to the mountains, and those trips instilled a love of all things nature in Whitaker.

"I've always loved being in nature, whether it's catching frogs as a kid or going out and hunting for gem rocks, or taking waterfall hiking trips with my grandma during spring break," she says. "My family took us on a trip to the highlands in Scotland, and it was just so beautiful. Everything seemed untouched by human civilization, and it was something I'd never seen before. It just took my breath away."

Whitaker will study biology at Campbell University - a school, coincidentally, with deep Scottish roots - and pursue a career studying natural science as one of five incoming freshmen receiving the full-ride J.A. Campbell Scholarship this fall.

As part of new Campbell President Dr. William M. Downs' Strategic Plan, the University has placed more emphasis on enrollment growth, and one Downs' earliest actions was expanding the scholarship to encourage more applicants. Whitaker and four others competed against more than 200 high school seniors in the fall through a series of essays and on-campus interviews.

For Whitaker, whose essay focused on leadership and following the path God sets before you, winning the scholarship was a welcome shock.

"I was overjoyed and, yes, just absolutely shocked when I opened the envelope and saw that I had won. I just started sobbing," she says. "I'm just so honored to be one of the few chosen. I was excited just to compete and meet so many great people. Campbell is giving me an amazing opportunity."

Whitaker learned of Campbell University through her mother, who heard about its strong biology program through a business associate. Because of its proximity to her grandparents, Whitaker and her family made the 900-mile trip last year to visit the campus and learn more about Campbell and its science program.

She said she fell in love with the idea of coming to Campbell initially through its website, and her first in-person visit sealed the deal.

"I was really looking for a Christian school where I could grow my faith and be a part of a community rooted in Christ," she says. "And I really wanted to be in the Carolinas. Campbell is fairly close to my grandparents, but coming here will allow me to branch out and be independent. Being so close to the ocean and the mountains was a big plus."

During her visit, Whitaker met with administrators and professors in the biology department. She got an up-close look at what environmental science students are doing on campus - documenting plant and animal species - and became excited about potential Study Abroad biology trips to Hawaii (which Campbell's program offers every year).

"The people were so welcoming, and everybody mentioned the word 'community' when talking about Campbell," she says. "I met so many nice people and even met my future roommate."

Whitaker returned to campus a second time to compete for the scholarship, again meeting many of her future classmates in the process. She says she's excited to study "God's beautiful creation" in the fall and says her studies, meeting new friends and going to church will be her focus in the fall.

"I'm excited to make memories and be with people who are just as excited to be where they are," she says. "I'm so thankful for this opportunity and to to go a place where I can just be myself."

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