MacKenzie Freed

California 2018

MacKenzie Freed

State: California

School: California Baptist University

College Major: Philosophy and Communication Studies

Scholarship Winnings: $35,000

Social Impact Initiative: “From Classroom to Boardroom: Overcoming Workplace Bias”
Imagine a world in which children fearlessly pursue the ambitions of their hearts rather than allow peer and societal pressure to stifle their potential. My goal is to encourage America’s youth to be brave and bold in pursuit of their passions and to accept one another as equal with the hope of improving the quality and compassion of our future workforce.

Miss America empowers me to: work to affect change through awareness, advocacy, and action.

Bio: I remember finishing my first Miss America local competition and feeling like I had finally found where I belong. It wasn’t just about how I looked or how pretty my outfit was. Miss America cared about what was inside my head and genuinely wanted to hear what I had to say. That was, and continues to be, so validating for me as an intellectual. We still have the glamour and the tradition, but we also have some of the most accomplished, well-rounded women in the nation speaking their truth and actively making a difference in the world. There is nowhere else I’d rather be.

Photo credit: Yachin Parham