Meet Madeline (Maddy) Wagar, Strategic Partnerships Intern
Madeline Wager, summer 2013
How’s you summer, Maddy?
Going well, working, karate, seeing friends. Work is at a BBQ place, which is funny for a vegetarian. It’s a good company, great values, a local business. I was happy to find a job without a lot of work experience, and I was only going to be there this summer.
How was your first year at Reed?
Very different from what I expected. A friend said it best: The only thing that can prepare you for a year at Reed is …. A year at Reed. It’s impossible to predict what it will be like until you do it. It was harder than I expected. I was ready for independence, excited to be away from home. Then, the reality of starting from scratch making friends, starting brand new with everything, and the work load—it was hard to make time for social life. It was tough. And, then in second semester, I started realizing that everyone else was going through the same—we all did. And, in talking about it, we all felt more settled and better.
Hopes or expectations for your sophomore year?
Just that it’s going to be a good year. I’m excited for my classes. I’ll be taking a lot more of what I’m specifically interested in—psych, a religion class I wanted to take. I’m looking forward to coming in already knowing people, having some established relationships, and being able to strengthen those friendships. And, excited for this internship! I’m super excited about using my photography in the blog and in career services in general.
What do you think is important for students to know from faculty and alumni about how they their built their careers and networking?
How they got started, what things they did that helped set them up in the area they ended up in. What were their doubts? What were their setbacks? How did they overcome those challenges? At Reed, we’re doing learning for the sake of learning. I’d love to know from alumni, at what point did your experiences at Reed show you a path to something concrete as a profession?
You’re a first gen college student. I’m curious what you think about that.
The college experience is new for me and my twin brother—and for my mom. Mom hasn’t been through this. She can’t obviously have advice to offer that is based on experience. I notice at Reed that students whose family have college educations and graduate degrees, there’s a difference in the intellectual rigor. I’m just aware of that and aware that I need to really challenge myself.
I understand you’ll be interviewing Kendall Taggart coming up.
Yea, I saw her on the Reed website and got in touch with her. I’m really interested in journalism and photojournalism, so I’m really excited about talking with her. Stay tuned and read it here!
Grin. We will, indeed!