On March 31, PHS senior Mackenzie Mills received some of the best college news a person can get: she learned that she was admitted to Dartmouth University, an Ivy League school in New Hampshire. This news became even more exciting when Mills learned that her financial aid offer was a generous one.

In Mills’s case, the wave of March college decisions was especially successful because of the offer that she received several weeks prior to her Ivy decisions. That offer came from Johns Hopkins University, one of the foremost research schools for scientific and medical research in the nation and in the world.

“I feel very excited to have the chance to enroll in a college (whether  I go to Johns Hopkins or Dartmouth) where everyone is like me in their enthusiasm for learning and achievement,” said Mills. “I’m also so gratified and proud that I managed to fight my way into an Ivy League school because it shows that all of my hard work is starting to pay off.”

Mills plans to study astrophysics as an undergraduate, though she hopes to attend medical school later on as well.

“At this point, my dream career is to become an astronaut and to be part of a manned mission to Mars. However, I am also really interested in medicine, and I think that being both a doctor and an astronaut would not only be amazing, but also really compatible, since long-distance missions need medical crews,” said Mills.

The bottom line? Dreams can come true, but they won’t do so without lots of hard work. Over the course of her four years at PHS, Mills has taken thirteen AP classes and maintained a 4.0 GPA. She has also completed three years of regular community service as a Husky Helper at Vaughn Elementary and has become a valuable member of the school Knowledge Bowl Team, which won second place at state this year.

Perhaps even more impressive, Mills has fourteen years of sustained commitment and excellence in competitive Irish Dancing under her belt.

“For me, the best part of Irish Dance is performing and having fun dancing with my friends,” said Mills, who performs both individually and as part of a team. Individually, she has achieved Open Champion status (the highest rank in Irish Dance) and has competed at Regionals, Nationals, and The World Championships. With her eight-hand team, Mills has also won second, fourth, and sixth places at the regional championship.

However, Mills has also found great fulfillment in less-competitive performances.

“We did a show at an Irish Presbyterian nunnery this St. Patrick’s Day, and it was probably the epitome of my dancing career so far because after the show, all of the nuns were so happy they were in tears. It was so meaningful to do something that meant so much to them,” said Mills.

Such displays of dedication, determination, and community involvement testify to Mills’s massive contributions to the Class of 2020 and to PHS in general. Whether she decides to attend Hopkins or Dartmouth and regardless of where she goes from there, she will have great impact on the cause to make the world a better place.