MacKenzie Isaac recently Googled herself trying to find the two times she was featured in Recorder articles, first when she was 10 and again when she was 16.
She saw a picture of herself — with braces and a pearl necklace — and couldn’t help but think what she might tell that younger version of herself.
“I was like, ‘If only you knew that you’d be in this position now,’” she said.
Isaac is unique, and it’s not just because she’s willing to admit to Googling herself. The Cathedral High School and University of Notre Dame alumna is a 2022 Rhodes Scholar, one of the most esteemed and competitive academic honors in the world.
Isaac will use the award to pursue a doctorate degree in population health at the University of Oxford. She’ll leave in September.
“I don’t think that it will truly sink in until someone puts me on a plane there and there’s no getting off of it,” she said. “I’m still in so much shock.”
For now, Isaac is focused on completing her master’s degree as an online student at Columbia University in the Health Education program. She would eventually like to get back to Indianapolis and go into academia to do public health research.
Isaac was always a gifted student. She was valedictorian twice, first at the now-closed Jewel Christian Academy and then at Cathedral, which is why she was in the Recorder twice. But even then, it took some convincing to apply for the Rhodes Scholarship.
A Notre Dame professor asked her at the beginning of her senior year if she had thought about applying.
“Those scholarships aren’t for people like me,” Isaac said, prompting a self-interrogation into why she thought that.
Isaac realized Black women didn’t fit her idea of who a Rhodes Scholar is. It was imposter syndrome holding her back, the thought that surely there were other people more deserving.
Isaac applied once and was named a finalist but didn’t get selected. She applied a second time and got in.
Aside from imposter syndrome, a grueling application process is enough to make people question if they’re cut out to be a Rhodes Scholar.
First, you need an institutional endorsement (it was Notre Dame, in Isaac’s case). Isaac then spent the summer filling out an application that included five to eight letters of recommendation. Next was a virtual interview on a Saturday afternoon. The students went into smaller breakout rooms, and Isaac was the last in her group to interview. Finally, students wait while the panel deliberates, and there’s no telling how long that might take.
The panel came back and announced the two winners in alphabetical order by last name. The first person announced had a last name that started with “Ir,” and Isaac quickly rushed through the alphabet to make sure her name was still in play.
She was the second name announced.
The final step was an email that came in the middle of the night telling her everything she needed to do to prepare for Oxford.
“It was like one jolt at a time,” Isaac said.
Isaac always felt a tug to go into health care because it seemed like a good way to merge her inquisitive way of thinking with a passion for interacting with people. There was also an influence from growing up in a Christian home.
“The concept of healing has always resonated with me,” she said.
Isaac was set on taking a pre-med path, but learning about the Flint water crisis during her senior year in high school changed that. There was a water drive at Cathedral, which she participated in, but it also made her realize water bottles were a temporary solution that wouldn’t fix the underlying issues.
She didn’t know all of the options at the time, but Isaac understood it’s what she wanted to focus on.
Isaac was already well on her way, Rhodes Scholarship or not, but now there’s an extra piece to help her reach that goal.
“It’s a weight that I take very seriously, that I bear with humility,” she said.
Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.
