By Kina Velasco | WeINSPIRE Journalist

SAN FRANCISCO, California - Fueled by passion and a desire to educate–meet Mackenzie Strong, a blind woman with albinism. She juggles being Student Body Vice President and Vice President of her literary society, a double-major in history and secondary education, and competitive swimming at Illinois College. Albinism for Mackenzie is not a hurdle, but has become her superpower to navigate life.

Albinism is a rare genetic condition that reduces the amount of melanin pigment in one’s skin, hair and/or eyes, leading to vision impairment. Individuals with albinism have vision impairment that is not correctable with eyeglasses. Strong is considered legally blind, often needing to hold her phone very close to her face and zoom in to read information, for example. According to Albinism.org, in the United States, approximately one in 18,000 to 20,000 people have albinism. Strong may be a part of this number, but she never let it stop her from pursuing her dreams.

“I started doing pageants when I was six, mainly because I didn’t have any friends. It’s hard when you’re different and don’t fit in with everyone else,” Strong said. 

Strong received the first runner-up at her first pageant–an immediate confidence boost. She now credits pageants for much of her skillset; “I have interview skills, I have no problem public speaking, I can think on my toes.” Today, Strong holds the title of Miss Round Lake Area 2022. 

In addition to participating in pageants, Strong knew from a young age that she wanted to educate others on albinism. Her mother friended a photographer with albinism on Facebook, and Strong was able to meet others with the same condition through him. Some of these people shared their albinism experiences on YouTube.

“I’d watch their videos and just remember always wanting to do that,” Strong said. Now, she boasts nearly 400,000 followers on TikTok and a growing platform on Instagram. Despite receiving ignorant comments about her condition, Strong maintains a positive attitude and chooses to educate others online rather than letting negativity affect her.

Strong dealt with the stigma around disability in school, as well.

“My swim team did not talk to me - and these were girls I swam with all four years. I never understood why because I tried so hard to be nice to them, so the only thing I could think of that made us different was the fact that I was competing in a different category than them,” Strong recalled, referring to how she swam in the disabled category during high school.

“We have the men’s category and the women’s. We normalize those two categories so much, but we’re not normalizing another category that’s there for the exact same reason. We need to acknowledge that people with disabilities have the right to compete with people like themselves.”

As a college athlete, however, Strong competes against able-bodied swimmers–proof that she deserves her position. “Able-bodied” refers to people who have no illness, injury or condition that makes it difficult to do things other people do. 

Given Strong’s experiences, she wants to normalize having a disability. To her, education is key–for example, few able-bodied people know that athletes in the Paralympics compete against individuals with their same disability to establish fairness.

“Once we’re educated as a society and able to understand that people with disabilities have a place in the athletic world, it will make those meets a lot safer for us,” she said.

Strong also encourages able-bodied people to let disabled individuals exercise agency. She remembers how her lifting coach did not want her to participate in the sport due to her condition, without knowing that Strong had actually been lifting for four years prior.

“If you want [disabled] people to be included, you have to let them be the voice for themselves, instead of you deciding whether or not they deserve to be there,” Strong said.

Currently, Strong is involved in numerous projects. She is the founder of VIDA–Visible Invisible Disability Advocates. For her literary society’s production, Strong picked the theme “Diversity Includes Disability”, which spreads awareness of disabilities, reduces the stigma and promotes accessibility. As Miss Round Lake Area 2022, Strong plans to read books about children with disabilities to students in her town and ensure local libraries include these stories.

While representation is important, Strong still has difficulty navigating the paradox of wanting others to be aware of her disability but making sure they also know that her condition is not her entire life. 

“I’m known on campus as the girl with the stick, but I wish I was known on campus as Kenzi,” Strong said. “I wish people talked about me for the things that I chose to do, and not the one thing I didn’t choose.”

After graduating, Strong plans on being a teacher–something others are often dismissive of, believing blind people cannot tackle this job.

“I will make accommodations for myself. I am not going to let my lack of vision be the reason why I can’t do something I want to do. I acknowledge that it is a part of me, it is who I am but it’s not all of who I am,” Strong explained.

Strong’s ultimate career goal is to be Head of the Special Education Department in a large district. During her first two years of high school, she lacked the necessary support and resources, and wants to make sure no other disabled student experiences this.

“I want to be the person who talks to teachers and gets them ready to teach a child with a disability. I can speak from my heart about why it’s so important that every single teacher accommodates,” Strong said

Moving forward, Strong believes that society is making steady improvements when it comes to creating a more inclusive world for those with disabilities–and this change is something she’ll definitely be a part of.

To keep up with Strong, check out her TikTok and Instagram.