Just over nine years ago, a personal tragedy galvanized the community around 11-year-old Mackenzie Saunders after the then-Kyrene Akimel A-al Middle School student was partially paralyzed from the waist down after being hit in the back during a soccer game.
Now, the Ahwatukee woman’s cheerful spirit and leadership galvanizes a community at Arizona State University, which honored her for the second consecutive year with a Pitchfork award – a recognition given students, advisors and organizations for personal and organizational leadership, collaboration and a commitment to better campus life.
Naming her Outstanding Undergraduate Student Leader, award organizers said the soon-to-be-a-junior “limitlessly leads others with a smile on her face.”