Hello!

 New Dancemakers 2016 - Photo by Tim Russell

Hi everyone! My name is Maddie and I'm finishing up my Freshman year at UW-Milwaukee. I started my job as an outreach assistant last fall, and I love it! My favorite part of the job is tabling events like Go Milwaukee, Meet Milwaukee and New Student Orientation. I love talking with prospective and incoming students about any questions or concerns they may have. I have a soft spot for High School kids because I just graduated a year ago, so the memories of senioritis, anxiously planning for freshman year, and the excitement of exploring a new school are still fresh. Anything I can do to help new panthers feel comfortable is my jam.

Day trip to Chicago

I was born in Coon Rapids, Minnesota but my family moved to Stevens Point, Wisconsin before I even turned one. I graduated from Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH for short), and spent most of my time in choir, band, musicals, or dance classes. Outside of that, I worked at a movie theater for almost three years and grew my love for media. Spending most of my life in the arts eventually led me to applying for a BFA in Dance at UW-Milwaukee's outstanding Peck School of the Arts. When I was little I thought I'd grow up to be a ballerina attending Julliard, but as I got older I realized I preferred post-modern dance and Milwaukee offered a strong post-modern curriculum. So far dancing at UW-Milwaukee's has been an incredible experience. A lot of people ask why I chose Milwaukee over staying home and attending UW-Stevens Point and the answer is simple: the opportunities. The city offers plenty of guest artists, companies, and performances along with being so close to Chicago for bigger auditions. On top of being a Dance major, I'm also majoring in Journalism, Advertisement and Media Studies (JAMS for short) all thanks to my High School job at the movie theater.

Getting ready for 80's night

A few things I've enjoyed this past year as a freshman have been joining RUF (Reformed University Fellowship), Concert hopping on weekends, exploring the city with friends, and Colectivo. RUF is a Christian student organization I got involved with at the beginning of the year and now attend weekly along with being part of the Ministry Team. I highly recommend getting involved in a student org your first year! Off campus, Milwaukee has plenty of concert venues to explore such as The Rave, The Pabst, Summerfest Grounds, Milwaukee Center for the Performing Arts, etc. Every so often my friends and I will spend the weekend checking out the music from venue to venue. This city offers so much, there's never a boring day. My friends and I will go to Bucks games, Brewers games, the Milwaukee Art Museum, Discovery Museum, Var Art Gallery, and plenty more events around the city. Out of everything here, my favorite spot is by far the coffee shop, Colectivo. There's a few of these scattered around Milwaukee and more often than not you can find me at one with a smoothie in hand, working on assignments or studying for exams.

Atwater Beach day with my roommate and suitemate

Over all I've had a great freshman year at UW-Milwaukee. I can't wait to see where the next three years take me, not only as a student but in this position as an Outreach Assistant as well.