HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — After four years at Northside High School, Macayla Moody has a list of 89 clubs, awards, sports, and accomplishments, on what she calls her 'brag list.'
In her senior year alone, she was involved in six clubs, three school sports, and three county sports. Some of these include Literary Club, DECA Club, Varsity Flag Football, wrestling team, and track and field.
"I do play adaptive sports with the Houston County Sharks Team. We do handball, wheelchair football, and wheelchair basketball," Macayla adds.
She says she likes to keep active.
"I'm a strong believer that if you do something positive, you're less likely to do something negative," says Moody.
Her dedication to staying active and her belief in positivity helped her overcome a serious setback. During her sophomore year, at the age of 15, she had an ischemic stroke.
Her stroke attacked the part of her brain that impacted motor movements, coordination, and memory.
"I couldn't memorize word problems. I couldn't memorize formulas, and it was a real struggle, especially in math," she says.
After missing two weeks of school, she was failing six out of seven classes. Macayla says she had to decide whether to give up or push forward.
"I'm happy to say I chose to persevere from my grandmother, from my mom, from the teachers around me who knew I was better than what I was now, and I knew there was an end game to any struggle you may have in life," she says.
She chose to take her experience to become an advocate for heart disease and stroke awareness.
In 2022, Macayla became a youth ambassador for the American Heart Association's Atlanta and Middle Georgia area. In the fall of that year, she and her mom did a 3-mile walk for stroke and heart disease awareness.
"Being around people who have been through the same struggle as you empower you, so when Ms. Northside came around, I knew that was going to be my platform," says Macayla.
Moody ran and won the 2022 Miss Northside pageant. She says she spread the message that people of all ages can experience a stroke.
"The facts are one out of six people will have a stroke in their lifetime, and stroke and cardiovascular disease is the number one and number two cause of death In the world," she says.
She says, "Keep in touch with your health and don't lie to yourself if something doesn't feel right. Go get help and go see your doctor."
She also spread awareness through Under Armour's Athlete No One Saw Coming campaign.
Moody is also a gifted writer. Macayla has a passion for spoken word and poetry. She is even a published poet with the American Library of Poetry.
One of her stand-out pieces is "Crowning Moment."
Her teacher Mrs. Katherine Branch says Macayla's words will change the world.
"She really is a game changer; she's not just going to just sit back and let the world be. She's going to meet people, and she's going to encourage them," says Branch.
Those encouraging words that she has to share, "Your shortcomings don't define who you are; just because you slip and fall doesn't mean you can't get back up and make a comeback," Macayla says.
Macayla is also a business owner; she runs Honey B's Luxuries. She sells t-shirts, lipgloss, key chains, and other accessories. She says the business is inspired by her grandmother, Betty "Honey" Grimes.
Moody is graduating top 45 in her class with high honors. In the fall, Macayla plans to major in forensic science at Savannah State University. She says she was always intrigued by investigative shows like "First 48" and "The Diabolical."
"I feel like my place in the world is to work on cold cases and work on the DNA path to either solve a cold case or vindicate someone who was wrongfully convicted," says Moody.
She doesn't plan to leave behind her love for writing. She says she plans to work on her own spoken word album. She plans to continue performing spoken word in Central Georgia's Macon, Perry, Fort Valley, and Warner Robins area.
If there is anything Macayla wants people to remember about her, she says, "Most importantly, you have to have fun, and you have to love what you do; with all the things I've done and accomplished, I absolutely love what I do," says Macayla.