Forbes Takes Note of Utah State Alums Lee, Wagner

Two Utah State University alumni from two very different walks of life were recently included on an acclaimed set of lists compiled annually by the staff of Forbes magazine. 

Mackenzi Lee, an author of books for children and young adults, and Bobby Wagner, an All-Pro linebacker from the Seattle Seahawks, were featured on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 media and sports lists, respectively.

Mackenzi Lee is the pen name of Mackenzie Lee Engelenhoven, 28, who attended USU from 2009-12 before graduating with a degree in history. The New York Times bestselling author published her first novel, This Monstrous Thing, in 2015, and Lee has written two non-fiction books, four fiction books, a novella and had several short stories published in anthologies. 

Wagner, 29, starred for the Aggies from 2008-11 before being drafted by the Seahawks in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. During his eight-year professional career, Wagner has been an NFL All-Pro selection five times and helped Seattle win Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014. 
    
“Every year we are more and more inspired by the growing number of young people who have made it their mission to change the world through innovation, entrepreneurialism, and drive, and this year’s class is no exception,” said Randall Lane, chief content officer, Forbes and creator of the Forbes 30 Under 30 franchise. 

“The Forbes 30 Under 30 list has become the preeminent recognition for the most up-and-coming visionaries, game-changers and pioneers the world has to offer – and we can’t wait to see what they accomplish next.”

One of Lee’s next accomplishments will be the completion of her second book for Marvel Press. Her first foray into the vaunted Marvel Universe was Loki: Where Mischief Lies, a young adult novel published last fall that explored the youth of Thor’s troublemaking brother. 

Telling the back stories of some of Marvel’s antiheroes was an “incredibly surreal” opportunity for Lee, who said she “grew up wanting to be a comic book reader, but the world felt like it was overwhelmingly male and I didn’t know where to start.”

Perhaps that’s why the Salt Lake City native became more engrossed in non-fiction works, instead, and attended Utah State University with the idea of becoming a history professor. But during her last year at USU, Lee said she came to realize that she had more interest in writing historical fiction than non-fiction, and she ended up completing her first book around the time she graduated in 2012.

“That book didn’t go anywhere; it’s never been published,” Lee said. “But I think everyone needs to write a practice novel first, and it was very formative for me in terms of cementing the type of writing I wanted to do.”

Lee’s first published work, This Monstrous Thing, grew out of her thesis while completing her master’s in writing for children and young adults at Simmons University in Boston. Her second novel, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, ended up on the New York Times Best Seller list and earned a Stonewall Book Award for its story of a young bisexual man growing up in Europe in the 18th century.

Even though Gentleman’s Guide is being adapted into a film for HBO Max, Lee said she was completely caught off guard to find she had been included on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 media list. 

“I woke up to a text from a friend that said, ‘Congratulations!’ And replied back, ‘For what?’ They had asked me to email them some things for their consideration, but I didn’t think much of it and didn’t even get a confirmation back that they had received what I sent them,” Lee said. “I just thinking they got it and went, ‘Maybe she’s not as a cool as we thought she was?’ But then I found out from that text from my friend that I was on the list, which was incredibly cool.”

A native of Ontario, California, Wagner was the Seahawks’ nominee for the 2019 Walter Payton Man of the Year award. Wagner is involved in several charitable endeavors in the Seattle area, including a partnership with the Low Income Housing Institute’s “tiny house” project, which helps provide homes for those in need, and he has also hosted the “Walk with Wagner” event during Stroke Awareness month and delivered supplies to homeless encampment sites as part of his "Bwagz Sees You" program.

And this past November, the Seahawks’ all-time leading tackler helped pack Thanksgiving meals for Seattle’s tiny home community, and treated grocery store customers to surprise shopping sprees. 

“When I do it, it’s genuine,” Wagner said of his altruistic efforts, which also extend to his hometown of Ontario. “It’s from the heart. I don’t really care if people see that I do it or notice that I do it or even recognize that it’s me doing it. I just do it because I feel like there’s a lot of people out there that need a hand, and I try to lend a hand.”

Utah State was the only Division I-A program to make an offer to Wagner coming out Colony High School, and he rewarded the Aggies’ faith in him by totaling a school-record 446 tackles over 48 games. Wagner was the 2011 WAC Defensive Player of the Year, and he has continued to perform at a high level in the NFL, leading the league in tackles last season for the second time in the last four years. 
    
Wagner, who majored in business entrepreneurship at Utah State, negotiated his own $54 million, three-year contract with the Seahawks last summer. And he has an eye towards the future by investing in numerous business opportunities.

“We get this money at such a young age,” Wagner told Forbes. “We should take the time to learn and understand how to make the money work for us versus working for the money, and do your due diligence and understand what it is that you’re investing in.”