On the ice, Macdonald’s competitive streak stands out. Growing up, she played a variety of sports from gymnastics to rugby, figure skating to swimming, basketball to soccer, but it was hockey that gave her the most joy and the desire to push herself to improve. She revels in the game’s fast pace, the physicality, and the high energy. “When you’re in a small rink, it’s really loud,” she said. “It’s such a contagious energy that you feel you want to get in and play.”

Katey Stone, the Landry Family Head Coach for Harvard Women’s Ice Hockey, said Macdonald’s athletic attributes and personal qualities were good reasons to recruit her. An assistant coach scouted Macdonald in a tournament in Washington, D.C.

“Maryna is an awesome human being, nice and caring, and a great teammate, the kind we want on the team,” said Stone. “She has great awareness on the ice. She anchors well; she’s a solid defender, a competitor; and she loves the game. She’s not a kid who plays ice hockey. She’s an ice hockey player.”

Logan, Macdonald’s cousin, is a forward on the University of Windsor (Ontario, Canada) men’s ice hockey team. “She was super-competitive as a kid,” he said of Macdonald during a phone interview. “I remember hanging out with her every summer. She always wanted to come out and play with me and the boys. She always wanted to do well and would always get mad if she didn’t do well. That competitiveness just took her a long way, clearly. I’m proud of her.”

For Macdonald, Logan has been a great support system over the years, providing advice or serving as a sounding board on hockey-related issues. Her tight-knit family, led by matriarch Geraldine Tom, her grandmother, has always supported her and Logan’s hockey careers.

Macdonald has maintained strong ties to her native roots through her grandmother, who is a source of inspiration and strength. Tom attended one of the many residential schools the Canadian government established to force indigenous children to assimilate to white Euro-Canadian culture. Started in the late 19th century, the program ended in 1996. Tom now works as a social worker in Port Alberni helping residential school survivors deal with traumas and reconnect with their Indigenous roots.

Macdonald does some of her connecting through the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP). “It’s a big part of my Harvard life here because it gives me the ability to learn more about my heritage,” she said. “They support me so much.”

Every summer, Macdonald goes back to Port Alberni to work as an instructor at West Coast Prep Camp, where she played hockey as a kid. It is a trip that helps her realize the distance she has traveled from her days playing for her hometown team. It’s also a chance to be a female role model for the girls — a rarity when she was growing up. Spreading the word about hockey and the opportunities it can bring is Macdonald’s mission.

“There are not many girls from Port Alberni who have made it to the University or have shown people the opportunities for them,” said Macdonald. “That’s the great thing about the camp now that I work there. I can tell them, ‘If this is something you want to do, there’s so many opportunities out there for you to play and get an education.’ It’s so cool that I can give that experience to them instead of having them figure it out on their own, like I did, so they can maybe go do better things.”