Mackenzie Bertolas '17 Recruiting Profile

Hi I’m Mackenzie (Kenzie) Bertolas and I am a senior at Totino-Grace High School in Minnesota. I have played hockey for 9 years now. The moment I stepped on the ice for the first time I fell in love. Over the years I have become more dedicated to hockey. I play year round with many different teams. I will take any opportunity just to practice or even play in a tournament. I work to be my very best. I play hockey because I love the thrill it gives me. I completely forget about everything going on in my life when I step on the ice. 

Besides hockey, I play soccer year round and I have done cross country and track in the past. I like being active and busy at all times. I have also always had a passion for learning. I push myself to get good grades and to enjoy learning. I am an A honor roll student and I am in the Kathleen Murphy Scholar Program at my school. School is my top priority because I want to be successful in the future. I am in three honors classes this year and I feel like I am keeping up very well. My goal is to keep getting good grades and get an academic scholarship. My dream job is to be a Certified Public Accountant and an Entrepreneur. I want to major in Business.  

My faith is also very important to me. I am a Christian and I know that God is always with me. I play sports for the glory of God. He is my strength and power. I started drawing a cross on my arm before my hockey games this past season. I do this to remind myself of the presence of Christ, but also for some people I know that have passed away recently. I went to South Dakota for a mission trip with my church last summer. It was an amazing experience to help people and see God through them. This trip was a life changing event and I am so thankful I got the opportunity to do it. I am going to Tennessee this coming summer for another mission trip and I am very excited for that also. 

This past season I was awarded the Hobey-Baker Award and it is an award of character and sportsmanship. I was a little shocked that I received this award as a sophomore, but I am very proud. I am thankful for the opportunity to play with my high school team and be a leader as an underclassman. A unique asset I have is that I can play forward or defense. I switched to defense halfway through the season because I knew I had to do what was best for the team. I had never played defense before this season. I ended up being nominated Best Defensive Player at the end of the year. This made me very confident and showed me that I can play wherever a coach would need to put me. 

One big decision I made that changed my life was going to a private school. I grew up in big public schools and did not really know what private school was. In middle school I was having a hard time with the people around me, so I decided to go to a new school for high school. This switch was really hard but I am so glad I did it. Totino-Grace is such a great school. 

Thank you for taking time to read my personal statement. I hope you consider me as a candidate for your school.