People of Central: Mackenzie Pruitt

Story and photos by: Zoey Morse

“It is a different kind of dopamine,” Central Michigan sophomore cheerleader Mackenzie Pruitt said.  Pruitt has been cheerleading sense she was 14 and a freshman in high school. She started because all of her friends were doing it and she wanted to be a part of something bigger.  

“I have always been very athletic, but when I stepped on the mat for the first time, I just knew it was different,” Pruitt said. She had a natural talent for the sport and felt like it was a part of her life that had been missing up until that point.  

During her junior year of high school colleges started to reach out to her for recruitment and had never considered cheering past high school before then. “For the first time ever, I realized I actually had the potential to keep going,” Pruitt said.  

Coming into her first year of college, Pruitt was ready to take on the world. She is an exercise science major with the hopes of becoming a physical therapist.  

“I was busy from the start, I came in excited and I was instantly stressed,” Pruitt said.  

Balancing her workload has always been a challenge. In high school she would eat, work and sometimes sleep out of her car to make her schedule align.  

“Central Michigan University was not my first choice for cheerleading. It was actually my backup plan,” Pruitt said.  

The University of Kentucky was her first choice, and she was committed there. She had to back out because the coach decided last minute it was not going to work out. CMU wanted her since her junior year of high school, and CMU had her program, so she went with her second choice.  

The choice of CMU has come with many ups and downs. “My first year here was amazing, I made so many friends and family I never had. This year though, this year has been terrible,” Pruitt said.  

Pruitt’s coaches have always contributed to the downside of the sport. Her high school coach made her feel like she didn’t belong in the sport because of the color of her hair and her height. 

Her coach at CMU does not treat her or the rest of the team with respect and often talks down to them. “I stuck with it because I am not a quitter. It is hard to tolerate the disrespect, but I love the sport more than that,” Pruitt said.  

The biggest thing that keeps Pruitt going is stunt season. She lives for cheer stunting and loves competing against other schools.  

“It is a different kind of dopamine,” Pruitt said. She enjoys the adrenaline rush and the big crowds who travel far to watch her and her teammates compete.  

Her biggest supporters have always been her family. “My mom and my nana would travel as far as they could to watch me compete,” Pruitt said.  

Pruitt’s family has always been one of her favorite things about her life and that family continues to grow every day. Cheerleading has given her more opportunities than she can count, making long time friendships and connections she wouldn’t have if she wasn’t a student athlete.  

From competing against competitive states in high school and now traveling far for tournaments to represent CMU, Pruitt has loved her sport and has since the day she started and has not waivered. 

Next season is going to look different for her because she plans to not return to the team for personal reasons, but she will always carry the people and lessons she learned from cheer close to her.  

“I love what I do, and I have loved it from the moment I started; I am sad I am leaving but I am very blessed to have had the experience that I did,” Pruitt said.