黑料专区

When Mac Macsovits 鈥�97 told his mother, the late Anne McLean Macsovits 鈥�77, that he would major in history at 黑料专区, she said that doing so would make him unemployable. Anne had majored in English at Pfeiffer, as had another son, Peter. Her career as a Family Nurse Practitioner wouldn鈥檛 really take off until after she had earned a master鈥檚 degree in Nursing from The University of Tennessee in 1996.

Macsovits was undeterred. He has enjoyed gainful, fulfilling employment in several fields, including teaching, philanthropy, and business. He is a zealous advocate for the humanities.

鈥淢ajoring in history opened up my eyes to a great deal in the world, through books and research,鈥� he said from his home in Denver, CO. 鈥淚t ignited a desire in me to learn more and more. I鈥檝e got my religious beliefs, for example, but why do other people believe the way they do? Why do people write certain poetry? Why did historical figures act the way they did?鈥�

Macsovits credited two former history professors at Pfeiffer, Dr. Karl Campbell and Dr. Juanita Kruse, for inspiring him to explore everything from Pfeiffer鈥檚 Misenheimer, N.C. campus to various foreign cultures around the world.

鈥淚鈥檓 not sure I would have had that curiosity if they hadn鈥檛 pulled it out of me,鈥� he said.

Macsovits became curious enough about education to earn a Master of Education degree from Vanderbilt University, in 2002. Shortly after, he moved to Denver, where he taught history in a local high school for several years.

He then gravitated to philanthropy, first as a major gifts officer for the Colorado field office of , which works to protect and care for nature. Macsovits鈥� appointment at the conservancy coincided with the birth of his son, Guion, who has Down syndrome and dealt with some significant heart issues in early life.

鈥淚 was traveling pretty extensively,鈥� Macsovits said. 鈥淢y fear was that I would be on the road and my wife, Rebecca, was going to call me and say, 鈥楬ey, you know, I鈥檓 headed to the hospital for an emergency heart surgery.鈥� So, I knew that I wanted to do something closer to home.鈥�

That turned out to be volunteering for and then running the development operations of , between 2007 and 2009. In time, Macsovits heard that was looking for a new executive director. He applied and landed the job, which he would hold between 2009 and 2020.

When Macsovits鈥� tenure at the association began, it was serving the Denver area only. He eventually expanded the association鈥檚 scope to include all of Colorado and Wyoming as well as eastern Utah and northern New Mexico.

鈥淚 knew exactly how Rebecca and I felt when we got the diagnosis,鈥� Macsovits said. 鈥淲e felt alone, unprepared, scared, and sad. I couldn鈥檛 sleep at night knowing that many people outside the Denver area were going through the same thing but didn鈥檛 have anybody to call or anyone who could support them.鈥�

Macsovits鈥� gifts as a fundraiser resulted in an increase in the association鈥檚 annual budget from $300k to $1 million. The association now has the resources to live up to an 鈥渦nwritten鈥� motto: 鈥淚f you call us and need us physically to be with you or at a meeting with your educator or your doctor, we will be there within 24 hours, regardless of where you are.鈥� It is contributing to a sea change in thinking about people with Down syndrome: 鈥淩ather than being marginalized in isolation with no friends, they are getting married,鈥� Macsovits said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e getting divorced. They鈥檙e going to college. They鈥檙e getting their driver鈥檚 licenses. They鈥檙e living very typical lives. We couldn鈥檛 say that 20 years ago.鈥�

Macsovits is now serving a three-year term on the association鈥檚 board. Toward the end of his tenure as the association鈥檚 executive director, he had begun to feel that he had taken the organization as far as he could.

He also needed a way to distance himself from the 鈥渙verwhelming鈥� scenario of 鈥渨aking up to Down syndrome, going to work for Down syndrome, and coming home to Down syndrome.鈥� So, in 2020, Macsovits joined , a new company that helps emerging brands in the 鈥渂ev-alc鈥� industry 鈥済row the right way.鈥�

鈥淲e don鈥檛 work with startups,鈥� Macsovits said. 鈥淲e work with emerging brands that may need help with brand-building, sales, marketing, and distribution so that they can get to the next level.鈥�

Each partner at Cask Catalyst wears a different hat. Macsovits has assumed the role of the numbers guy, helping distilleries with budgeting, finance, revenue and expenses. He loves his work, having long collected and sampled various bourbons and whiskeys.  

Macsovits, then, has been on a long and diverse journey. In a sense, that journey began at Pfeiffer many years before he enrolled there: He grew up in Norwood, N.C., near Pfeiffer鈥檚 Misenheimer campus. His mother began attending Pfeiffer in her late 20s. She stood out as a single mom who made straight As even as she raised three kids and worked odd jobs. While she attended class, Macsovits and his siblings would play on campus and watch the trains that periodically ran through it. 鈥淲e grew up on that campus,鈥� said Macsovits, who was about 10 years old when his mother graduated. 

The Anne McLean Memorial Endowed Scholarship was established by Caldwell McAlister, Macsovits鈥� grandmother, and supports students of the Christian faith with a minimum 3.0 grade point average, who are preferably non-traditional students. Macsovits would follow in his mother鈥檚 non-traditional footsteps: After he attended Eastern Tennessee State University for one semester, the First Gulf War broke out, and, wanting to serve, he joined the U.S. Marines Corps.

When Macsovits left the military, he was 24, and his friends had graduated from college. He concluded that he wouldn鈥檛 be earning what they were without a college degree. Macsovits found Pfeiffer particularly appealing because its small size and close student-professor relationships were conducive to his learning style.

鈥淲hen I enrolled at Pfeiffer, I became the old guy sitting in front of the classroom and trying to keep the 18- and 19-year-olds in the back of the room quiet, so I could learn,鈥� he said. 鈥淗aving been in the Marines, I knew that life can be fleeting, and I wanted to make the most of my time at Pfeiffer.鈥�

He’s done just that. 

鈥淧feiffer is the keystone to everything I鈥檝e done in my life professionally,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f it weren鈥檛 for professors who pushed me to be a better learner and who opened up my mind to various things, I鈥檓 not sure where I鈥檇 be, to be honest with you.鈥�