+ Share

A Running Start

madeleine gardner

Madeleine Gardner ’18

From her first semester on campus, Madeleine Gardner ’18 has distinguished herself academically and as an active volunteer. Learn more about this Westminster, Md., native, including why she decided to attend Dickinson, the class that will marry her interests in languages and medicine and how an introductory religion course has helped shape her spiritual life.

Major: 

Spanish (health studies certificate)

Clubs and organizations: 

Dickinson Christian Fellowship (worship team), Relay for Life and CommServ (volunteer, Carlisle Arts Learning Center)

Honors/scholarships/awards:

John Dickinson Scholar and winner, First-Year Seminar Essay Writing Contest.

Favorite book:

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham.

Favorite movie:

It’s a Wonderful Life.

On choosing Dickinson:

I focused on small, liberal-arts schools in the Mid-Atlantic region. I attended a small, close-knit high school and wanted to attend a college that also had small class sizes and offered the ability to meet and talk with professors on a regular basis. When I was applying to colleges, I did not know what I wanted to major in or pursue as a career, so the liberal-arts atmosphere also appealed to me, because I knew I would have the opportunity to get a well-rounded education and investigate classes across the spectrum, from art to religion to biology. 

I admit that I also love the campus. I love the old limestone buildings, the uniqueness of Denny’s architecture and the modern Rector Science Complex. One thing that struck me about Dickinson was the emphasis on having a positive impact. Dickinson encourages environmentally sustainable practices, studying abroad and physical fitness through required physical-education credits, three things that I am passionate about, and no other college I visited had the same vested interest in these three things.

I'm glad I decided to attend Dickinson, because it's close to my hometown and allows me to remain connected to my family, and my professors and classes have opened my eyes to new perspectives and are pushing me to do my best work. I love the community of people that I've met here, and I've made great friends.

Favorite place on campus:

Waidner-Spahr Library.

Favorite Dining Hall food:

Pesto chicken salad and chili from the Kove.

On choosing a major:

I took Spanish all through middle and high school, and I really enjoyed learning the language and learning about Hispanic culture. During my first semester at Dickinson, I enrolled in a Spanish class, and my First-Year Seminar also had a Hispanic theme; it was titled Latin American Short Stories. I loved both classes, and they prompted me to sign up for another Spanish class in the spring. It was called Fiesta!, and we learned about Hispanic holidays and celebrations as a way of delving deeper into the meaning of the language and the customs of native Spanish speakers. My goal is to achieve fluency, and I hope to have the opportunity to study abroad in Spain or Latin America, because the only way to reach fluency is through complete immersion. 

 

I also love studying health science, because it's a science that is tangible and applicable to everyone, and health-care and wellness initiatives have the ability to improve people’s everyday lives. I declared a health certificate after taking an intro to health studies course in the spring. It was a survey course with guest lecturers and a variety of readings about health care, public health, policy, health conceptions and global health concerns, and I loved the mixture of topics. I'm also considering a second major in biology. 

I'm looking forward to a class I am taking this fall called Spanish for the Health Professions, in which I'll learn medical terminology in Spanish and travel to a clinic to translate for Hispanic patients.

Post-Dickinson plans:

 I'm considering a career in the medical field; the options I'm considering include occupational therapy and physician assistant careers. 

Hobbies:

I love music and art; I enjoy playing the piano, painting and drawing. I also like gardening and then collecting flowers, pressing them and making collages out of them.

As a kid, I wanted to be …

… either a veterinarian, teacher, artist or professional musician. 

Favorite class:

So far, my religion class, New Testament in Context, with Professor [Theodore] Pulcini [Thomas Bowman Professor of Religion]. The class is about the historical background of the New Testament, including the influence of the Old Testament and the Greek and Roman societies of the time period. I have grown up a Christian, but I have only ever read bits and pieces of the Gospels. It has been eye-opening to dig into the text—to notice references to Hebrew, Greek or Roman culture and learn how these three traditions helped shape Christianity. In some ways the class has strengthened my faith, but it has also given me a fresh perspective and led me to ask questions about how Christianity formed, which written details are correct and which are inaccurate and why different denominations have different views on the Christian religion.

Learn more

 

 

 

 

 

 

Published June 24, 2015

Events All events

Dickinson in the News News archive Dickinson Magazine Calendar of Arts