Mackenzie Martin intends to continue her research on child and family development as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford.
Mackenzie Martin, an extraordinarily busy undergraduate student in the Department of Human Ecology, can now add being a Rhodes Scholar to her lengthy to-do list.
Martin, who is simultaneously pursuing her bachelor of science and bachelor of education degrees, as well as a certificate from the University of Alberta's Peter Lougheed Leadership College, won a 2018 Rhodes Scholarship this week.
Currently immersed in practicum teaching at a junior high school in Edmonton, the lively and articulate 22-year-old is headed to graduate studies at the University of Oxford next fall, via one of the world's oldest, most prestigious and selective international scholarships.
"There are so many wickedly smart people at Oxford and I look forward to having great conversations with people who challenge me and talk about things I've never heard of before, never even thought of before," said Martin, whose studies in human ecology take place within the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences (ALES).
"It's so exciting to join the Rhodes community, which aspires to develop and support public-spirited leaders around the world."
Martin already has a fine start on that goal. Now in her fifth and last year of her combined undergraduate program, she has crammed a tremendous array of education, hands-on international learning and community outreach into her university experience.
In addition to her curriculum studies in child and family development, she invested extra effort researching aging, and on creating a program that inspires pregnant teenagers and teen mothers in Edmonton to pursue post-secondary education.
In 2016, she won an undergraduate researcher stipend to conduct an ethnographic study at De Hogeweyk, an internationally renowned village near Amsterdam for people with dementia.
Working alongside faculty researchers Janet Fast and Megan Strickfaden, she is a part-time research assistant with AGE-WELL NCE, a national research network that focuses on aging and technology.
The team is developing a tablet application and associated database that allows family caregivers to choose appropriate technological tools for their needs.
Last summer, she was an intern at the World Health Organization's Centre for Health Development in Kobe, Japan, where she conducted a literature review on living arrangements of older adults around the world, and learned about community social innovations for aging through meetings with Japanese officials and visits to seniors' housing.
Also last summer, she attended the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) World Congress in San Francisco. There she participated in the Global Social Initiatives on Aging Master Class, which focused on population aging and livable environments for older persons.
Motivated by Grade 7 memories of a classroom visit from a teenaged mother, in 2016 Martin created the Post-secondary Possibilities Program for students of Braemar School (where pregnant or parenting teen mothers study). They spend a day on the campuses of UAlberta, NAIT or NorQuest College, attending workshops and interactive sessions that give them a peek at what post-secondary education entails.
"Mackenzie demonstrates all of the best attributes of an ALES student," said Stan Blade, dean of the Faculty of ALES.
"A great education taught by superb faculty members, international perspective through a diversity of experiences, and local leadership in important activities and initiatives to help the community. We are so pleased that she has been selected for this remarkable opportunity at Oxford."
Martin's award marks the second time in three years that a student from the Faculty of ALES has received a Rhodes Scholarship. Each year, a class of 100 scholars is selected from countries around the world and 11 are chosen from Canada.