Mack Kramer Excellence Fund

Makayla "Mack" Kramer was a 2020 graduate of Rock Springs High School who was attending UW on the Trustees Scholarship and participating on the UW Debate Team. Mack was well known throughout the state as a high school debater, earning numerous awards in both speech and debate that culminated with the Lincoln Douglas Debate State Championship senior year of high school.

Mack was a fierce-yet-gracious competitor, always willing to help others and striving to build others up. Mack loved mentoring others in debate and always found time to help others improve their skills. High school coaches throughout the state also turned to Mack for debating insights. At UW, Mack had a successful first season and continued mentoring high school debaters virtually. Mack was voted president of the UW Debate Team at the beginning of sophomore year by peers but very sadly lost the battle with depression and anxiety shortly after this on September 7, 2021.

The Mack Kramer NEOWISE Award for Character and Excellence was established in Mack's honor by Matt Liu, UW Debate Coach during Mack's time at the university. Matt named it NEOWISE, saying "This was the brightest comet during Mack's lifetime, and like Mack, it was gone far too soon."

Our goal is to present a $1,000 scholarship with this award each year to a high school debater in the state who exemplifies the qualities that Mack had: competitive ambition, a passion for debate, commitment to helping others, love and respect for Wyoming debate, and a burning desire for greatness.