MacKenzie Mainer

MacKenzie Mainer - California
Nomination by Patricia Mainer
Photography by Angie Lane Photography
Issue 72 of Inspiring Teens Magazine
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Nomination: MacKenzie Mainer A graduating Engineering Senior with a 4.30 GPA, Mackenzie is a Leadership student who competes on a Level 6 Worlds Team for All Star Cheerleading and is a Regional Champion Waterskier. MacKenzie suffered two broken ankles and ultimately double surgery while maintaining her position as Captain on the Worlds team. Soon after recovering, she lost her Dad in a tragic accident. Nonetheless, she’s continued competing, winning, and maintaining academics. Mackenzie is quite inspiring to have achieved success despite very traumatizing adversity in her life. I nominate her as an inspiring team!
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Photography by Angie Lane Photography

​How do you balance & organize a heavy school load while maintaining such a high gpa and busy extra curriculars?
Something that separates me from others is my work ethic and commitment to finish what I aim to accomplish. If I have a homework assignment due the morning after a long practice, I am willing to stay awake for however long it takes in order to complete it. I recognize when I need to prioritize one activity over another, although it is difficult to sometimes let go of being social. I see the importance of everything I do, and I know it is worth it to be able to do the things I love while simultaneously preparing for the future.

What is your favorite subject this year vs your hardest and why?
My favorite subject this year would be my Engineering Design B class because it prepares me and teaches me about my dream career. I spend my time each day designing my dream home, so what’s not to love about that, especially considering that this is what I want to spend the rest of my life doing. My hardest class would have to be AP Calculus BC. Although I do really love my teacher and the class environment, the advanced math curriculum is difficult to understand and takes a lot of effort and studying to excel.

What is the most interesting thing you've learned so far this year?
The most interesting thing I have learned so far this year would definitely be everything I’ve been taught in my Engineering Design B class, which focuses on architecture. I’ve learned about all the different architectural styles and also how to use the computer program to build the entirety of houses.

Tell us about your cheer career.
I started sideline cheer in elementary school when my brother played football and I would watch the cheerleaders. So, we signed me up for cheer, but I despised cheering on the football team, instead preferring the one competition at the end of every year, so we finally decided to make the switch to All Star cheer near the end of my 6th grade year. I’ve done it ever since, climbing up the levels until I reached level 6 (the highest level) my freshman year. I love cheerleading because of the hard work, leadership, and mental lessons I’ve learned.

What is your team like? Where do you fit in and where do you stand out?
My cheer team, Firestorm, is composed of twenty-two strong, determined, hardworking, and passionate athletes that share a love for this crazy sport. We’re all very different, but we share the same desire to be the best, and we all offer different benefits to the team environment that helped us accomplish our dreams. I truly consider my coaches and my teammates my family. In fact, after winning worlds, my coach said I am “the heart of the team”. I'm proud to hold that title and to be able to say I am a World Champion with my best friends.

What was Worlds like?
Hundreds of senior level 6 teams from across the world travel to Orlando, Florida to compete on the largest stage in cheerleading and possibly take home a Globe from the All Star Cheerleading World Championships. Worlds is different from any other competition because anything can happen and you’re surrounded by the best of the best. All the blood, sweat, and tears of the past year lead up to two minutes and thirty seconds on that mat. I’ve competed at Worlds 3 times, taken the stage 8 times and I’m proud to say I can finally call myself a World Champion.

Photography by Angie Lane Photography

​What do you feel passionate about or could talk about forever?
Something I feel passionate about is my sport, All Star Cheerleading. There are many people who don't consider cheer a sport, but what I do is completely different from what most people envision when they think "cheer." I don't yell on the sidelines, I compete in high intensity routines with tumbling and stunts that draw awe from everyone in the crowd. The blood, sweat, and tears I have put into cheerleading rival those of UFC fighters or NFL players. Although it is something difficult to understand unless you experience it, the subject of cheer is something I can talk about forever.

Your main image shows you on a boat. Tell us about your favorite water activities.
My other main sport is competitive water skiing. My parents grew up waterskiing and actually met on the dock at our lake, Bell Acqua. I learned to ski ever since I could walk and I plan to ski competitively in college. I compete in jump, slalom, and trick events, but slalom is my favorite. I won the 2021 and 2023 Western Regionals in Girls 5 slalom, and I’m ranked 10th in the nation. Waterskiing has been such a huge part of my life and I am so excited to continue at the collegiate level.

What inspiring things about you does your nomination not cover?
My nomination covers most of my inspiring aspects, but lacks the full description of everything I have been through. Starting with my dad, he was my best friend and mentor, so losing him affected me in more ways than I can explain, but I've persevered through the struggles, emerging as a more grateful and mature person because of it. I would also consider my cheer journey inspirational because of the blood, sweat, and tears that helped me reach my ultimate goal, winning the World Championships and being crowned a World Champion with my team.

What is a favorite memory with your dad that you will never forget?
My favorite memories with my dad involve us traveling the nation for water ski tournaments, but the one that stands out in my memory was the 2021 Western Regionals in Denver, Colorado. This was where I won my first regionals and had so much fun making memories with him. Toward the end of the trip, we drove across the state border to Cheyanne, Wyoming for the Cheyanne Frontier Days Rodeo to go to the Thomas Rhett concert. I’ve been to many concerts and tournaments, but this was hands down my favorite because I got to experience it with my dad.

What is a family tradition you hope never ends?
A family tradition that I hope never ends is snow skiing at Kirkwood Mountain near Lake Tahoe. My family owns a slope-side condo and we spend as many weekends as possible every winter in our favorite place. My brothers and I grew up on the Expedition Kirkwood ski team and we all skied on the Kirkwood Freeride team as teenagers. My best memories with my family are the ones spent on the mountain. Skiing is how my brothers, my mom, my dad, and me bond, and I hope we have the opportunity to keep doing it forever.

What else would you like to talk about?
My goals for the future include attending either University of Texas at Austin or Texas A&M University to major in Architecture/Architectural Engineering. As a young girl, I always felt confident in my ability to achieve anything I wished, approaching school and athletics with the same mindset. In my high school engineering classes, I am one of three girls in the whole class, but that does nothing to discourage me as I remain one of the top students in the class. I'm quite excited for my dream career as a woman in STEM.
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Photography by Patricia Mainer

What are you hoping to do with your degree in Architecture/Architectural Engineering?
I dream of becoming an architect versed in both structure and design so I can create custom homes that double as works of art as well as places for families and friends to make memories. If I can design something to be enjoyed by families such as my own, with a love for the outdoors and adventurous sports, then I know I can make a positive impact on many lives in the same way that these places have for me.

How did you find your photographer, Angie Lane Photography? What was your experience like? What did you love most about it?
My mom previously owned a wedding design business and formed a relationship with Angie Lane, our photographer. My family has used her ever since for Christmas cards, family photos, my brothers' senior portraits, fun photoshoots, and of course my own senior portraits. I love working with Angie because she makes the experience so much fun. I feel so comfortable with Angie and I have complete trust in her talent. My favorite part of working with Angie is seeing her passion and the way she makes me feel genuinely beautiful when she photographs me!

What is up next for you that you are super excited about?
I am most excited for my senior year and to graduate high school and go to college. I’m nearing the end of my high school career and I am so excited for what awaits me, wherever that may be. Although I am trying my best to embrace these final days at home and truly soak it in, I just can’t help but feel excited for everything that’s to come.

What is the hardest thing you have ever accomplished, and how did you do it?
The hardest thing I ever accomplished was enduring my double ankle reconstruction surgery in July of 2022 and coming back to my sport stronger than ever, then finally going on to win the Cheerleading Worlds. I did it with the help of my teammates and my family, who always supported me and pushed me to reach my dreams.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to be where you are today?
I would tell them to trust the process. There is a plan for you and everything will come together and be okay, all you have to do is continue working hard and what’s meant to be will come.

Look for MacKenzie in issue 72 of Inspiring Teens Magazine!

click here for more information on issue 72

click here to nominate an inspiring teen