Maize and Blue Scholar Cowan learned to lead at UM-Flint

Mackenzie Cowan was in first grade when she first started telling people she wanted to be a teacher. "I really loved school to begin with," she said. "I liked the environment. I loved learning. I remember liking to help people, and I still do, which is why I stuck with it," she said.

That instinct has followed her ever since. Now a senior in the elementary education program at the University of Michigan-Flint, Cowan has been named a Maize and Blue Distinguished Scholar — a recognition that honors not only academic achievement, but leadership and community engagement. For someone who describes herself as once too shy to leave her comfort zone, the distinction carries particular weight.

"I'm used to being recognized for academics, because that's always been my thing — working hard to achieve high grades," she said. "But joining the community and being recognized for my community service and my leadership — being out there — is new to me. It shows me that all of the work I've been putting into this really new, scary experience paid off. Not only for myself, but enough that other people noticed it."

Cowan's connection to UM-Flint is, in a sense, inherited. Her mother graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting and later earned an MBA in 2001. Her father, a veteran who was honorably discharged at the rank of sergeant, was a stay-at-home dad for much of Cowan's upbringing while her mother built her career — an arrangement uncommon at the time.

"I 1,000% get my work ethic from my mom," Cowan said, "but I get a whole lot else from my dad."

That combination of drive and steadiness is visible throughout her time at UM-Flint, though it didn't surface all at once. For much of her first two years, Cowan kept to herself, treating good grades as the primary measure of success. The shift in thinking was gradual.

"My 'aha' moment was realizing I needed a little bit more than just academic success," she said. "I thought to myself, 'I'm going to have a whole life after this — good grades alone won't make me happy or take me far. I need connections, friendships and experiences.'" 

The shift began in earnest when she wandered into a campus block party alone during her junior year. "I said, 'I've never been in this part of the building, I've never been to a campus event, nobody's coming with me — I'm just going to show up,'" she said.

A conversation that same evening at a Greek life event introduced her to Phi Sigma Sigma. She was skeptical at first because sororities were not part of her world. What won her over was learning that two classmates who had become friends were already members, and that the organization's philanthropic mission centered on school and college readiness. "It helped me realize that being in a sorority is so much more than what you see in movies," Cowan said. "They have sisterhood, and they're really about all their values — friendship, faith, strength, sincerity, integrity, love. Those are super important to me. And once I learned about their philanthropy, I knew it was for me."

And after becoming the sorority's philanthropy chair, she organized school supply drives and led a fundraiser that raised hundreds of dollars' worth of supplies for Flint's Dye Elementary, a Title I school the sorority partners with. She also organized a bowling fundraiser, Bowling for Ariel, that raised nearly $2,000 in a single event for the Ariel Rose Black Memorial Scholarship, which supported a sister's education. "It gave me the opportunity to do leadership work directly in schools before I was even teaching in one, which was really cool," she said. 

Inside the classroom, one professor left a particular mark. Karen Caldwell, who teaches social studies methods in the education program, stood out to Cowan not only as an instructor but as a reflection of herself.

"I dreaded taking social studies methods classes because it's my worst subject and I've never had any interest in it, but her organization and engagement strategies made it not only manageable but also fun," said Cowan. "I love the impact she's had on me. I look forward  to having that kind of impact on people, too."

"Mackenzie is a dedicated and thoughtful educator who is deeply concerned with providing students a high-quality education," Caldwell said. "She demonstrates a high level of professionalism in her work and interactions with others and is a natural leader.

"Her academic and service commitments are all the more impressive given she worked full time until beginning student teaching this semester."

Cowan is now completing her student teaching placement in a kindergarten classroom, where she has gradually taken over full instruction from 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., every day.

"I ask questions to make sure I'm still fixing the little bits and pieces, and I'm still learning from my mentor teacher even when she's just watching me," Cowan said. "But I can do everything there now. I'm going to enter my first classroom with everything I need — the only skills I'll be missing are the ones you can only get down the line."

Her goals after graduation focus on securing a placement in a kindergarten classroom. "I like that the kindergartners keep me busy," she said. "I like that they're always asking me questions. I like to be on my feet all the time."

For students still finding their path, she offers the lesson she learned herself.

"Don't spend your life wondering what could have been," she said. "Growth doesn't happen when you're comfortable. Take the chance to do the things you want to do."