By Aidan Vann – Volunteer Engagement Ambassador
For McKai Bacon, service goes beyond volunteering. To her, it is a way of nurturing all forms of life, human, plant, and animal alike, and a commitment to lifting up the world beyond the boundaries of her own experience. Service is rooted in connection through the small, everyday choices to care for others, to stand beside those who need support, and to honor the shared responsibility that binds diverse communities together. This ethos of care did not form overnight. It grew slowly, shaped by moments of challenge, reflection, and rediscovery. Over time, service has become for McKai something deeply human, an expression of care, presence, and the belief that people flourish when they care for one another.
Finding Light in a Time of Darkness
The path that led McKai to service began during one of the most difficult chapters of her life. The COVID-19 pandemic brought uncertainty, unemployment, and long stretches of isolation that took a real toll on her mental health. Days blurred together, and the world felt heavy and distant.
In the middle of that darkness, she made a decision that would change everything: she started volunteering at local food banks. What began as a way to step outside her own spiraling thoughts became a source of grounding. Handing food boxes to families, greeting strangers, and working alongside others toward something meaningful offered her a sense of purpose she hadn’t felt in months. That work during the pandemic didn’t just connect her to her community, it helped her connect with herself.
As a Volunteer Engagement Ambassador with the 91ÊÓƵ Center for Community Engagement, she carries that experience with her. She understands how powerful service can be when someone feels lost or alone. And so, she leads with empathy, inviting others to discover the healing, grounding, transformative possibilities that service once opened for her.
Seeing Communities Through a Sociological Lens
McKai’s sociology background gives her a unique and thoughtful approach to service. Instead of seeing individual projects in isolation, she views nonprofits and community organizations as interconnected pieces of a larger social system. This lens helps her understand not just what communities need, but why those needs exist and how lasting change can be created.
It makes her pay attention to equity, access, and the long-term effects of service, not just the immediate outcomes. It inspires her to ask deeper questions and approach community work with intention, compassion, and awareness.
The Channel Islands: Where Purpose Meets Place
While service brought McKai healing, the Channel Islands brought her something just as profound: a sense of belonging. During a class trip to the Santa Rosa Island Research Station, she felt an immediate and unmistakable connection to the land. That feeling of connection stayed with her long after she returned home.
This connection has drawn her back again and again. She has returned to the islands in many ways, but her volunteer experiences remain the most meaningful. In the summer of 2025, she worked with the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden on an invertebrate biodiversity study, traveling to remote areas of the island where conservation efforts are reviving land once completely damaged by grazing animals. She has also volunteered with Channel Islands Restoration, helping support habitat recovery near Cavern Point on Santa Cruz Island.
These moments of walking through quiet coastal trails, working hands-on to restore fragile ecosystems, feeling the weight and beauty of the islands’ history and biodiversity shaped something in her. They strengthened her sense of responsibility, not just to enjoy the islands, but to protect them.
Her time on the Channel Islands continues to guide her future. She envisions a career rooted in stewardship, conservation, and ensuring that these remarkable places remain protected for generations to come.
A Journey Shaped by Compassion and Courage
Looking back, McKai recognizes that while the pandemic brought deep hardship, it also led her toward unexpected growth. The isolation pushed her towards service and opened a path she might not have found otherwise. In a moment when she felt vulnerable and uncertain, she chose to reach outward instead of withdrawing further. That choice marked the beginning of a journey defined by resilience, community, and a deep belief in the power of caring for others.
Today, service is woven into how she moves through the world. It guides her passions, her academic work, her personal growth, and the dreams she holds for her future. Her story is a reminder that sometimes the most meaningful paths begin in the moments when we are simply trying to make it through one day at a time and discover, along the way, that showing up for others can help us find ourselves when we feel lost.