Growing up in Lexington, South Carolina, Patrick McKenzie never imagined he’d leave
the United States. But as of today, thanks in large part to his time at the South
Carolina Honors College, he has traveled to 22 countries, and he’s just getting started.
“I first left the country in 11th grade to travel to Belize for a class on conservation
in the tropics. I was immediately bitten by the travel bug and wanted to go everywhere
and see everything. Of course, I didn't have any way to do that. I was really fortunate
to end up with some amazing scholarships from the University of South Carolina, and
those scholarships have funded all of my travels,” said McKenzie.
One thing that wasn’t a surprise was his path toward helping others and equipping
himself to make an impact. Always knowing he wanted a career where he could create
meaningful change, his vision for his future came into focus during his time at South
Carolina.
“Before I got to college, that meant being a conservation biologist. Then, the more
I traveled, the more my passion shifted from the more abstract idea of helping nature
to helping people. And my passion has shifted once more towards trying to help individuals
in a very specific way, which I hope a career in human rights or immigration law will
allow me to do,” said McKenzie.
Both a Stamps Scholar and NOAA Hollings Scholar, McKenzie has spent time conducting
research abroad to help the indigenous Ngobe communities of Panama, researching the
Hawaiian monk seal and volunteering at the Carolina Survivor Clinic as a tutor for
refugees. And his experience in the Honors College has been filled with faculty mentors
guiding him and peers challenging and encouraging him. Now he plans to bring his knowledge,
experiences and passion together for the next part of his education.
Recently awarded a Boren Scholarship to spend the 2019-2020 academic year studying
Arabic at the Qasid Arabic Institute in Jordan, McKenzie will improve his language
skills and engage with the local community in Amman. During his time there, he hopes
to work with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and
spend time traveling the surrounding region. After he completes his Boren experience
in Jordan, he plans to work for the U.S. State Department or in the intelligence field
for a year before beginning law school.
“One day, I hope to use my improved ability to speak Arabic to help people, and especially
refugees, be able to immigrate to the United States. In that sense, the skills I acquire
during the Boren Scholarship will directly allow me to help people improve their lives
and the lives of their families. I also think that these kinds of multicultural experiences
help to build greater empathy and understanding, so I hope to return from Jordan with
that as well,” said McKenzie.
Empathy and understanding are crucial issues for McKenzie, as he continued, “I believe
that many of the issues we face today stem from a lack of empathy for others. It is
common to focus on differences and to dehumanize groups of people. In turn, this leads
to complacency, and we allow ourselves to ignore the problems that others face… especially
inequality. To this day, there are enormous differences in opportunities based on gender,
race, class and place of birth. In my opinion, the only reason we stand for these
differences is because we lack sufficient empathy for those that suffer under these
systems. If we learn to think about strangers across the world the same way we think
about our families, we become obligated to try to right the wrongs of inequality for
all people.”
Boren candidates like Patrick McKenzie are supported during the application process
by two offices at the University of South Carolina: the Office of Fellowships and Scholar Programs, established in 1994 to assist students applying for national fellowship competitions,
and the Study Abroad Office which assists students in pursuing education overseas.
Boren Scholarships are sponsored by the National Security Education Program and allow undergraduate
students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S.
interests but underrepresented in study abroad. Students interested in Boren and other
national fellowships should contact the Office of Fellowships and Scholar Programs
at 777-0958 or visit their website.