Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Alex MacAulay of South Puget Sound

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Alex MacAulay. Check out our conversation below.

Hi Alex, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Lately, pickleball has been bringing me a lot of joy. This past summer I found myself playing multiple times a week, and it quickly became my go-to form of self-care. The physical and exercise component is great, of course, but just as important for me were the new social connections I’ve built on the court. As someone who usually packs my calendar full for ten months out of the year, it felt refreshing to center my summer around open play, tournaments, and steadily improving my game. There’s something really rewarding about seeing yourself grow and develop a new skill in your mid-30s — it’s proof that you can still teach an old dog new tricks. Pickleball gave me that mix of movement, connection, and progress that I didn’t even realize I was missing

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I serve as a Site Coordinator with Communities In Schools, a role dedicated to fostering equitable access to education by addressing both academic and non-academic barriers students face. My work involves coordinating resources, supporting families, and cultivating trusting relationships with young people so they feel seen, supported, and empowered to succeed. What makes this work especially meaningful is the opportunity to walk alongside students as they build resilience and confidence, often during some of the most formative years of their lives.

In addition to my work in education, I remain active in the arts as a film journalist, podcaster, and film festival juror. These creative pursuits not only allow me to explore the power of storytelling but also complement my commitment to elevating voices and perspectives that might otherwise go unheard. Together, these dual paths—education and film—reflect my belief in the transformative power of both community and narrative.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
A moment that profoundly shaped how I see the world was the time I spent living in Hawaii with my aunt and uncle while studying Early Childhood Education. Beyond my coursework, I was immersed in a culture very different from the one I had grown up in. I worked at an early learning center serving the local community, attended classes with peers whose backgrounds and experiences differed widely from my own, and navigated a society that was just beginning to experience the full impact of social media—making it easier than ever to stay connected to friends and family back home while fully engaging in my immediate environment.

Those years taught me to see the world as expansive and deeply interconnected. I realized that people are navigating joys and challenges in ways I could never have anticipated, and that I had the opportunity—sometimes to celebrate alongside them, sometimes to contribute in meaningful ways—to be a part of those moments. Living in Hawaii instilled in me a deep sense of gratitude and a lifelong appreciation for cultural diversity, for the ways communities support one another, and for the perspective that no matter where life takes you, there is always a chance to learn, grow, and connect with people in unexpected ways.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
If I could say one kind thing to my younger self, it would be: don’t compare yourself to others. While that advice might seem familiar, the reasoning behind it is deeply personal to me. I believe one of the defining legacies of my generation—millennials—is that we were among the first to challenge the traditional roadmap of life: go to a four-year university, land an office-desk job, get married, have kids by thirty. And for many of us, that path simply didn’t fit—and that was okay.

If I could go back, I would tell my younger self that success doesn’t have to look like someone else’s blueprint. Understanding this would have eased so much of the stress I felt navigating my twenties, trying to measure up to expectations that weren’t mine. Today, through my work and perspective, I see a society offering so many diverse and tailored educational and career pathways—ways for students to build meaningful, “non-traditional” paths into post-secondary education or the workforce. Knowing this now fills me with hope, and I would have loved to tell my younger self to embrace the journey that’s truly yours, without comparison or fear.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What truths are so foundational in your life that you rarely articulate them?
A truth that is foundational in my life, but that I rarely articulate, is how overwhelming empathy can be. I want to be clear: this doesn’t derail or diminish the social work and advocacy I do every day. But when I truly focus on the scale of inequity in our society—the brokenness of our support systems, the generational poverty some are born into, the countless individuals experiencing hardship—it can be profoundly heavy and, at times, crippling.

I deeply believe that no one should have to endure hunger, homelessness, judgment, or insecurity in any form. I do my part each day to support and improve my community, but I am not immune to moments of defeat. Still, I hold onto the belief that drops in a bucket eventually overflow—that small actions accumulate to meaningful change. Carrying true empathy can be a burden, but it’s also a driving force behind why I show up, care, and work toward a world where fewer people have to suffer.

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
The story I hope people tell about me when I’m gone is simple, but to me, it’s everything: that I cared. Truly and deeply. Not just in passing, but in every way that mattered—about my family, my friends, my work, my interests, and my life. I want people to know that I never took the moments I had for granted, that I approached each interaction with genuine attention and thoughtfulness, and that I tried to leave a positive mark on the people I met.

Life, to me, is a series of personal interactions, and it’s in those moments that connection and meaning are found. I hope that when someone remembers me, they recall that I was fully present, that I cared about their experiences, their joys, and their struggles, and that I sought to make a difference, no matter how small. Above all, I want my genuine nature to shine through, so that people feel my care in every memory they hold of me. If they can say that about me, I would consider that the most meaningful legacy I could leave behind.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://peninsula.ciswa.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instalexmac
• Other: https://letterboxd.com/clickshootamac/