Mackenzie Langley, a 27-year-old from the University of Denver, found her passion for life and for social change through her international experiences. For 11 years, Mackenzie has used a wheelchair after being a passenger in a car accident when she was 16. After finishing high school and beginning college, she knew she wanted to study abroad, a goal she had before her injury. Despite being told that Europe wasn’t accessible, she was determined to pursue this opportunity. She took the advice with a grain of salt, reasoning that challenges exist everywhere, even in her hometown of Denver.
Her conviction led her to a study abroad program in Seville, Spain, with the organization International Studies Abroad (ISA). It was there that she “fell in love with life again,” finding a deep passion for what the world had to offer.
Overcoming Challenges with Creativity and Community
Mackenzie’s study abroad journey was marked by both challenges and incredible breakthroughs. While she was offered an accessible dorm, she was eager for a more immersive experience with a host family. She reached out to her program, expressing her flexibility and her needs. The program, in turn, contacted a local government-affiliated nonprofit that focused on accessibility, which connected Mackenzie with a woman who also used a wheelchair and offered to host her.
This unique living arrangement gave Mackenzie a front-row seat to life as a local with a disability. She learned how to navigate a city that wasn’t always perfectly accessible, from getting her wheelchair fixed at a local shop after it broke down to learning the proper process for booking accessible train seating. These experiences taught her that while the current systems aren’t always perfect, creativity and community can help overcome obstacles.
“I do live in the camp where, ‘This is what we’ve got right now and I’ll make it work and it’ll really be okay.’ I was taking a flight in Portugal and they didn’t have an accessible aisle chair lined up. So I convinced strangers in charades and broken Portuguese to carry me up onto the plane. And these stories make me laugh because it just shows how ridiculous and clever and creative we have to get.”
After her study abroad experience, Mackenzie was so enamored with Spain that she returned after college to teach English through the Ministerio de Educación’s cultural ambassador program. She was specifically placed back in Seville, which was a huge comfort during the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, she spent an entire year living as a local, getting to know the community, and teaching fifth and sixth graders.
A Passion for Change
Mackenzie’s international experiences, particularly her time in Spain, ignited a passion for creating positive change. After returning to the US, she founded a business called Lighthouse to help nonprofits connect with each other to share resources and support each other. While the company is now closing, Mackenzie is proud of the impact she made in her local community and the incredible learnings from her first entrepreneurial adventure.
Her next objective is a perfect reflection of her life’s journey. She plans to complete the 500-mile Camino de Santiago on a bike, a trip she’s funding through a $10,000 professional development grant as a Boettcher Foundation Doers and Difference Makers Fellow. This trip isn’t just about the physical challenge; it’s a deeply personal mission.
“I think running a startup… it’s hard to believe you can do hard things and very rarely does it feel like you see things through to completion. So setting off to do the Camino is a reminder to myself that I am capable of pushing myself and doing hard things, and I can really see something through from start to finish.”
On a larger scale, she hopes her journey will challenge perceptions about women and people with disabilities. She wants to show that they are capable, creative, and hardworking, and that they are worthy of investment and support.
“Disability is never involved in that conversation [about diversifying the startup ecosystem]… me doing the Camino, I hope on a larger scale, shows people that we should be investing in women, and we should be investing in disabled people because women and disabled people can do hard things and we’re creative and hardworking and clever.”
Mackenzie’s story is a testament to the power of embracing uncertainty, seeking out community, and facing challenges head-on. Her travels have not only enriched her life but have also inspired her to advocate for a more inclusive world.
