CHARACTER INFO:
Birthday: April 10, 1991
Family: Puckerman
Gender/Pronouns: Nonbinary, They/Ze
Sexuality: Queer
Occupation: English Teacher and Show Choir Director at Lima High School
Relation: Half-sibling
Birth Order: Second oldest
Secret: Mack found out they were pregnant just prior to graduating from Harvard. Knowing they were in no position to raise a child on their own and fearing they might end up like one of their parents otherwise, Mack gave their son up for adoption. It's the one regret they have in life, despite knowing it was entirely for the best.
SOME THINGS ABOUT MACKENZIE:
tw: abuse, child neglect
Mack never met their father. The man was present the day they were born and forced from their life by their mother afterward. So while they bear his last name, it's the only connection they remotely have to him. They don't particularly care to change that.
Mack spent only the first seven years of their life with their mother in Canton, Ohio where they were born. Shortly after they were born, their mother met their first step-father. He was an abusive man who had no care for Mack and did their mother dirty. As a case for abuse and neglect was built rather quickly by concerned neighbors and teachers, their mother lost custody of them and, due to their father being unreachable, Mack was sent to Texas to live with their aunt.
Growing up, Mack was a hardheaded, determined, and creative soul who refused to let anyone get in their way. They knew what they wanted and weren't afraid to fight to get it. Mack did everything from sing in the choir to stage work and beyond. They loved performing, but what they loved most was poetry. They wrote and performed their own work a handful of times, using it as a way to cope with the life they'd been handed.
Just prior to starting high school, Mack's mother was granted custody of them after years of supervised visits and finally getting her life back on track. This led to a move to Akron, Ohio, where Mack's mother was living with her third husband and Mack's second step-father, a gentle man with kind eyes and a sweet soul. They attended Carmel High School, becoming an immediately active member of Vocal Adrenaline and establishing a name and place for themself. They thrived in the cutthroat environment, all too used to taking harsh criticism and giving it back just as well.
After graduating high school, Mack went on to attend Harvard, earning a degree in comparative literature. They hadn't entirely wanted to attend college at all, knowing that being a poet didn't take things like degrees, but their innate interest in learning and a full ride scholarship became the driving force behind such.
They moved back to Ohio about two years after graduating and eventually found themself becoming a teacher to help pay the bills. While they started out as a middle school English teacher, an opportunity opened up at Lima High and they took it, eventually establishing a show choir to rival the fame of Vocal Adrenaline and New Directions. While they still write poetry and perform it when they can, a new dream of instilling a love of poetry and performing in the next generation soon took hold for them.
Mack only recently came out as nonbinary. While it's something they'd known about themself for quite a while, a fear of possibly losing their job kept them from doing so. Thankfully, outside of a few concerns from parents, and a few co-workers who refused to accept it, Mack was met with approval and even delight from their students. They primarily dropped the use of she/her and "miss" when they came out, but know there are many who likely won't ever stop referring to them as such. Only their show choir students and the friends closest to them know that they also use neopronouns.
While Mack loves their mother's current husband, her typical bad taste in men has led Mack to be wary of relationships, especially with men. Typically speaking, Mack doesn't like to get attached romantically, but is known for having more than a few sexual partners at any given time.
