Tim and Dawn Mack take their team spirit 4,439 miles to Hawaii
Tim and Dawn (Kessler) Mack graduated in the Horseshoe in 1983 with George H.W. Bush, then vice president, as the commencement speaker. But the real excitement came later, when Tim got down on one knee at Mirror Lake and asked Dawn to marry him.
They wed the following summer and began their teaching careers in the fall. In 1991, Dawn, who earned her Gifted Validation by completing coursework in the college, teaches in the gifted services department for Worthington, Ohio, City Schools.
Tim returned to Ohio State for a TESOL endorsement in 1992 and now is the coordinator of English Language Learners (ELL) for the Plain Local-New Albany School District in Franklin County, Ohio.
Last year, the Mack family was planning to celebrate cousin Gretchen Boerwinkle’s special birthday in a big way by traveling to Hawaii, where their son, Danny Mack, practices optometry on Oahu.
Then Tim and Dawn realized they would be away from home for the 2014 season’s huge College Football Playoff semifinal January 1 at the Sugar Bowl, Ohio State vs. Alabama.
“Since we’re Buckeyes, we’re resourceful. We took the party to Hawaii,” Dawn said. “We all brought our Buckeye gear, tablecloths, Ohio State plates, napkins and Buckeye candy for our game-day tailgate.”
The photo captures their group at half-time at their villa on the famed North Shore of Oahu. Everyone in the complex heard this crew celebrating the big win that day.
The Macks’ Ohio State ties run deep. In addition to Tim and Dawn’s EHE degrees, family connections include graduates in Medicine, Nuclear Engineering, Occupational Therapy and Circulatory Technology.
Tim and Dawn are proud to have two sons who have completed degrees at The Ohio State University. Kevin Mack (’14 BS Physical Education) played four years of lacrosse, including time with the ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference) championship team that made it to the NCAA Elite Eight. Kevin is teaching and coaching at Marvin Ridge High School in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Older son, Danny Mack graduated in 2014 from the College of Optometry and is an ocular disease specialist at the Hawaiian Eye Care Center on Oahu.
The Macks are so thankful for the Buckeye friendships they have made over the years. They say there is nothing like sharing many of life’s big events and cheering on the Bucks with lifelong friends made through The Ohio State University.
