Two Grads Plus Dad
The McKenzie Family Has Three New College Graduates
Other than graduating from ÐÒÔË¿ìÈý and the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) together, the stories of Jon McKenzie, his son Carson and his daughter MacKara couldn’t be more different.
Jon waited more than 20 years to see his dream of earning a college degree come true. He’ll earn his B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies after returning to college through the CLASS initiative Vandal Finish, which helps former U of I students who left school without a degree return and earn their diplomas.
Carson will obtain a B.A. in Film and Television. He also stayed on the Moscow campus for his education — the only one of the trio to do so.
MacKara might have been the busiest of the three while in school, earning two degrees – a B.S. in Psychology and a B.S. in Communication – in only three years. She accomplished this while attending classes virtually from her home in Coeur d’Alene, where she lives with her husband Ikeka Sebastian and their daughter Kalea.
“I’m very proud of the hard work dad has put in to finish school,” Carson said. “But my decision to come to U of I was different than his and probably different than MacKara’s. We’re proud to be Vandals but we have different paths we want to take after graduation.”
Marvel-Ous Future
After commencement, Carson will be shooting for the stars. Specifically, he wants to shoot movies with movie stars. After he moves back home to Coeur d’Alene for a few months, he’s planning on relocating to Atlanta to dive head-first into a film career.
“Atlanta is a really good area to be in the film industry, especially if you’re looking for a production job,” he said. “A lot of college graduates head down there, find a production set and start working their way up.”