Mica Peak High School: Makenzie Rose puts herself in the drivers seat with automotive career already launched
Not to make too big of a play on her last name, but Mica Peak High School senior Makenzie Rose is truly the rose that grew from concrete.
Rose transferred to Mica Peak as a sophomore. Every year leading up to her time at Mica Peak was, in a word, rough.
Rose’s birth father cheated on her mother with a woman he eventually married. This woman was abusive to Rose and made the time she had to spend at her father’s home miserable.
“I went from half the time being with my mom and having a super loving home and super happy to learning how to stitch myself up because my father wouldn’t take me to the hospital,” she said.
Middle school was equally challenging. One of Rose’s best friends lost their battle with cancer, and her then-partner committed suicide in front of her.
Rose thought high school would be a fresh start, but during freshman year, two family dogs died – one after being poisoned by a neighbor and the other from bone cancer. She also hasn’t seen her younger siblings since freshman year because of family issues.
“In middle school, I did not think that I would make it to 18,” Rose said. “I was swearing up and down I would not be here and I honestly can’t believe I’m here.”
Rose did a lot of work herself to change that mindset, but she also credits the teachers and friends she met at Mica Peak. Rose said she was often brushed aside at her other high school. At Mica Peak, she is seen as a human not just a grade.
Rose has also, to make another play on her name, blossomed while at Mica Peak thanks to her participation in the NEWTech Prep (formerly NEWTech Skills Center), where she is a student in the collision repair program. The two-year program requires students to keep up their grades, and they have to be invited back for the second year.
Rose’s two older brothers are mechanics and she’s been interested in cars her whole life, but this program is the first time she’s actually been able to work on cars. Through the program, she’s decided she wants to focus on automotive painting after high school.
Determined as she is, she’s already gotten a job in the detail shop of a dealership. She currently works part-time but will move into a full-time position after graduation.
Counselor Lynn Hutchins has worked with Rose for two years and said she’s noticed how much Rose has settled in at Mica Peak. Rose is able to be herself and acknowledge her emotions, Hutchins said, while also being a positive person, which has benefited others at the school.
“When people are positive, it spreads,” Hutchins said. “That doesn’t mean we feel happy with the world at every moment, but things come at you and you go ‘OK,’ and then you do your best to make things work.”
Rose, who also has a green thumb and happily educates those less knowledgeable about plants she likes, such as rabbit’s foot fern, can acknowledge that she did a lot of work to get to where she is today, but she also makes sure to thank her mom, dad (who has been in her life since she was 3 years old), brothers and sister for their love and support through the ups and downs.
“My entire family, when I was in a really, really, really bad situation, got me out of it,” she said. “They all banded together, they were all in communication and they got me out of a situation that I would have been dead if I didn’t get out of, and I cannot thank them enough. They’ve been the very backbone of getting through everything.”