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Mac Hird on giving back

By Barbara Woolsey (HS’07)

For Mac Hird (HS’07), Luther College High School provided more than just a diploma — it was the launching pad of Hird’s quest to achieve success through experimentation.

“I’ll never forget my time there and I won’t forget the friends that I made, but the part I’m really grateful for is the firm grounding that I got at Luther,” explains the 21-year-old. “It’s hard to describe, but the passion that was instilled in me ... by the time I got out of Luther I wanted to do all these new different things. That means a lot because that’s definitely carried over into university and it’s going to carry me through life.”

Hird graduated from the high school as a distinguished alumnus, having completed the International Baccalaureate program and been involved in many extracurricular activities such as football and kayaking. He is now in his fourth year of studies at the University of Texas at Dallas, pursuing his Bachelor of Science in physics with a minor in political science on a full scholarship.

During the school year, he is active in student government and works for the university’s opinions newspaper, A Modest Proposal.

Hird’s diverse interests have brought him a wealth of life experiences. In mid-2010, he studied German for one semester in Freiburg, Germany. Hird has also resolved to travel to various World War II memorials across Europe over the summer of 2010, visiting the graves of every fallen soldier from Regina — a means of fulfilling his love of both history and travel.

“I have a firm belief that the reason you like a subject is because you’ve had good teachers,” he says. “I ended up with great teachers, people like my high school physics teacher, Mr Becker. He’s the reason I got interested in physics, he definitely put that spark there. Each teacher contributed in their own way to each subject. It was difficult because for a long time I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but it’s a good difficult.”

Luther has given Hird so much — and he is eager to return the many favours.  However, “there’s more than one way to give back,” he notes.

“The way that many people give back is they try to give money,” he explains. “Right now, that’s not where I am in my career. I think the best thing I can do at this age is represent the school really well by going out and doing awesome things.”

One example of the awesome things Mac is doing is his trip to Europe over the summer of 2010, when he visited World War Two memorials across Europe.

Because of the opportunities Hird has had thus far, he is a fountain of knowledge for current Luther students and fellow alumni, If a Luther College High School graduate were ever considering studying in Texas, remarks Hird, they could always talk to him.

While Hird is eager to help other Luther students find their way, he’s not too set on his own life plan just yet. “When you graduate, everybody feels like you have to have a plan after that,” says Hird. “I don’t really feel like you have to, you just need to get out and start doing things. I didn’t fall in love with physics by sitting in a class, but by being in the lab doing research ... Get into what you might want to do, try it out, and be honest with yourself about it.”

After his first degree, Hird would like to obtain a PhD and, through research, find a way to fuse his many interests into a hybrid area of study.

“I want to see how we can use science to make better public policy,” he explains. “There aren’t always many people involved in public policy who understand science. They are often good at discussing opinions and understanding politics, but they need to have an understanding of science as well.”

In the mean time, the honours student will continue to exceed expectations through constantly trying to broaden his horizons.

“You have to get out and start doing things ... it helps you grow as a person,” he said. “That’s the only way you’ll find a career you’re happy in. I still haven’t found one, but there are so many opportunities, and I can always go back to the drawing board. Just be honest with yourself ... it’s important to experiment and find out more about yourself.”