Paint Valley senior escapes dangerous home situation, wants to become social worker
BAINBRIDGE— McKenzie Anderson is an active part of the community and a member of the Bainbridge Church of Christ, 4-H and the National Honor Society. She strives to not follow in her mother's footsteps.
Until 7th grade, McKenzie lived in Canal Winchester and her parents had 50/50 custody of her.
"I was best friends with my mom. We had a great relationship... I saw my dad one week, and my mom the next. And everything was fine. They were divorced and I had a great relationship with both of them," McKenzie said. "Then, my mom started getting into drugs."
McKenzie said she was young and never saw her mom using drugs, but remembers often not having food, electricity, heat or water at her mom's house. She remembers times when she couldn't wake her mom up. "I had to act as the adult because I had to make sure she was awake to take me to school."
The problem came to a head in 2016 when her mother was arrested and went to jail for trying to break into someone's house.
Soon after, her dad got full custody of her and moved to Bainbridge. Although adjusting to a new city was difficult at first, she grew to love the new area.
"My parents saved me, my dad and my stepmom. I got out of the situation," McKenzie said. "I never wanted to fall into my mother's footsteps, into drugs. And so they really pulled me out of it and it was hard adjusting at Paint Valley because I was from the city, but I'm glad because I made a lot of connections in the community."
She quickly got involved in the community, which helped her to feel at home. She joined the Paint Valley cross country team and the 4-H club.
"I love to run and I think of that as a way to express my feelings. It lets all my feelings out, especially during that time," McKenzie said. "I got into cross country and I got involved with 4-H. It was hard for the first year but when I got to high school, I got more involved in things and everything was better."
Her dad, Mike Anderson, said he saw a huge change in her daughter after joining different clubs and organizations.
"She was extremely shy [after moving here]. Very introverted, did not like being out of her safe space and would not talk to anybody that she didn't know... It was painful," Mike said. "Now, she's able to go out on her own and have a conversation with a stranger now and just she's comfortable."
4-H also helped her to bond with her stepmom, Holly Anderson, while they raised hogs together.
"[4-H] was really out of my comfort zone because I was a city girl," McKenzie said. "I really think I was meant to come to this community and give back."
Through senior community service, 4-H and National Honor Society, McKenzie had a lot of required community service to complete her senior year. However, the requirement was just a jumping-off point. She now volunteers weekly for fun and plans to continue while in college.
"I needed the community service hours for school. And so I started working there, but I loved it," McKenzie said. "I don't have to have those community service hours anymore, but I'm still going there because I've created a bond with these people."
She has volunteered at PV food ministries, made Valentine's Day cards for nursing homes, cleaned the local ballpark, collected donations for Operation Christmas Child, raked leaves around the community, collected money for the Humane Society and more.
She also helped to run several blood drives at Paint Valley throughout the year.
While deciding what to study in college, she completed a mental health project and spoke with various professionals. She contemplated what she wanted to study throughout her high school career. From becoming a nurse or a mental health counselor, all the options had one thing in common: helping others.
After much deliberation, McKenzie decided to study social work in order to help children who have struggled with similar problems. Mike said his daughter has always enjoyed caring for other, so choosing social work was not a surprise.
She graduated from Paint Valley on Sunday, May 22. She has a full ride to Ohio University Chillicothe in the fall. She chose to stay close to home so she can continue to volunteer in the community.
"I want to help people, I've always wanted to," McKenzie said. "I don't want to see any other children experience that... hopefully I can make a difference in people's lives that have went through that."
Megan Becker is a reporter for the Chillicothe Gazette. Call her at 740-349-1106, email her at mbecker@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @BeckerReporting
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Paint Valley senior escapes bad situation, wants to become social worker
