Mackenzie Fierceton
Mackenzie Fierceton (born Mackenzie Terrell on August 9, 1997; later Mackenzie Morrison,) is an American activist and graduate student currently studying at Oxford University. Raised in Chesterfield, Missouri, a West County suburb of St. Louis, she attended and graduated from the Whitfield School in Creve Coeur. She received a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania (commonly known as Penn), on a full scholarship, through a combined five-year program. Beginning in 2021, Fierceton became embroiled in a scandal with Penn over the representation of her background in her university applications. In her applications to Penn, and later the Rhodes Scholarship, Fierceton stated that she was sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend; was physically abused by her mother to the point of hospitalization; and had lived in foster care for a number of years. She also identified as a first-generation low-income (FGLI) student due to her lack of financial support, as a result of parental estrangement. An investigation by the Rhodes Trust and Penn concluded that she failed to correct statements and impressions made in her application essays, particularly in regard to the severity of abuse, nature of her upbringing, and