Meet this week’s Campus Cutie, Madeline McHale! Madeline, who loves to dance and travel, tells us all about growing up on the West Coast, spills her celeb crush, and tells us about her involvement in the Conn Coll dance department, including her pre-performance rituals! In addition to her dancing talents, Madeline is a member of the Emerging Leaders Program at Conn!
Class Year: 2017
Hometown: Seattle, Washington
Major/Minor: Undeclared, Dance Minor
Relationship status: Single
Favorite place on campus? My bed or the arboretum
Celebrity crush? I’m going to have to go with Jimmy Fallon, but Blake Lively is up there.
Favorite Cro dance theme? I liked dressing up for the 80’s dance but it’d be fun to have a jungle themed dance at some point!
Spirit animal? An ocelot.
Tell us about the dance performances you have been involved in this year.
I’ve been involved with Dance Club, Fusion, the Dance Department Faculty Show and am currently involved with Eclipse. I’ve loved having so many different opportunities to dance here and it’s great to see so many people involved in them.
Any pre-performance rituals?
Channeling my inner Beyoncé by blasting Love on Top and Bootylicious.
In addition to being active in the dance department, we hear you are involved in a leadership program on campus. Tell us about it!
Yes, I am involved in the Emerging Leaders Program. We meet once a week and participate in different workshops and activities that revolve around leadership. We also went on a short retreat at the beginning of the semester, which I really enjoyed. Through the program, I’ve met a lot of cool people and have found all the topics to be really interesting!
What was your favorite part about growing up in Seattle?
I grew up in a neighborhood that was centrally located so it was easy to get around either walking or by bus. There are also really amazing parks everywhere and it’s always fun to hangout by the water. It does rain sometimes but I have learned to love it and I actually kind of miss it over here. Seattle is also really urban and has a unique vibe that I haven’t seen in other cities I’ve visited. Also, Seattle has amazing restaurants and great local produce, so the food is all really good. I feel very fortunate to have grown up in such a great city. If you haven’t been before, you should definitely come visit and I’ll show you around!
Favorite meal from home? Everything. Also ice cream.
Favorite meal from Harris (assuming you have one)? Honey Nut Cheerios and a good-looking banana.. If that counts as a Harris meal
What is the best vacation you’ve ever been on?
I went to Cambodia for two weeks my junior year of high school with a group from my school. We had three local tour guides so we were able to experience so much more with their direction. We stopped in the three major cities Phomn Penh, Battambang and Siem Reap. In Siem Reap, we visited Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world, and watched the sunrise at 4 in the morning, which was pretty amazing. We were also in Cambodia during the New Years celebration so we participated in special activities with that. Beyond that trip, I love traveling with my family.
Favorite memory from freshman year so far?
Spending time with my beautiful roommates in room 326!
Number one Conn Coll bucket list item?
I can’t do this at school but it’d be cool to ride a camel at some point while I’m still a Camel.
How do you feel about being campus cutie?
I’m very flattered someone on campus thinks I’m cute ;)